Flipped!: David Welsh On Osamu Tezuka's Swallowing The Earth
By David P. Welsh
I'm of the opinion that there should be a constant influx of translated comics by Osamu Tezuka. He's so essential to the history and evolution of manga, redefining storytelling techniques and expanding subject matter and audience in the process. It's hard to find a contemporary manga-ka who doesn't acknowledge him as an inspiration or cite his work as a professional influence or personal favorite.
He was prolific, too, so it seems reasonable to expect at least one "new" work by Tezuka each year. There are dozens of series waiting to be published in English, from classics for children like Princess Knight to works for a mature audience like Gringo. Of course, one of the side effects of Tezuka's daunting output is that all works will not necessarily be created equal. They won't all be great and some might not even be all that good.
That his works range along the quality spectrum doesn't bother me, and it doesn't strike me as a particularly compelling reason not to publish a work by one of the medium's undisputed masters. I know that's not a commercially sensible frame of mind, but it's how I feel. Every creator in every medium has works that suffer in comparison to their best output, and Tezuka's historical significance allows more leeway than most. I believe there's a compelling interest in seeing as much of his work as possible, even if it's... well... bad.
By way of example, I offer this year's "new" Tezuka, Swallowing the Earth, published by Digital Manga. It was one of Tezuka's first forays into the gekiga category, "dramatic pictures" conceived for adult audiences. Artists like Yoshihiro Tatsumi and his cohorts had broken ground in this category, and Tezuka, eager to see comics that appealed to every age and sensibility, joined the fray. Swallowing the Earth was one of the first titles to be serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic, one of the earliest manga magazines targeted at adult men.
As prominent manga scholar Frederik L. Schodt argues in his foreword, Swallowing the Earth is an undeniably important milestone in Tezuka's output, representing an early step in Tezuka's transition from a creator of work for children to an artist who could frankly address adult concerns. Those concerns -- the price of war, greed, discrimination, and so on -- aren't absent from Tezuka's works for kids, but gekiga represented an opportunity to present those issues without any filter, incorporating sex and politics into his narratives. Tezuka would go on to produce enduring classics in the category of comics for adults, including Ode to Kirohito and MW, both published by Vertical.
But is anyone outside the narrow population of prodigies great at something the first time they try it? Tezuka wasn't, and Swallowing the Earth proves it.
It's about a global conspiracy to destroy civilization to avenge the wrongs done by men to a woman named Zephyrus. This conspiracy involves seduction, economic manipulation, and treachery of every stripe. Synthetic skin is developed and marketed to undermine law enforcement. Gold is dropped from the sky to destabilize global markets. And only a drunken moron is immune to the attentions of Zephyrus's alluring minions.
The drunk is Gohonmatsu Seki. He's drawn into Zephyrus's orbit when a mogul hires him to investigate the mysterious woman. Dim, booze-obsessed and entirely lacking in ambition, Seki seems like the last person you'd ask to engage in subterfuge. In fairness, he's also the last person you'd suspect of practicing it, but this does not enhance his effectiveness. His limited attention span for anything not contained in a bottle leads him to abandon his mission, but his sizeable endowment leaves the seductive Zephyrus bewitched. Seki can't escape involvement in Zephyrus's schemes, but the schemers find themselves at risk due to this unexpected chink in their man-hating armor.
You can hang a lot of different kinds of stories on the misadventures of a well-hung drunk, but I don't believe that a geopolitical thriller is one of them. Life just happens to Seki. His beliefs and sympathies are childlike, and they're automatically secondary, possibly even tertiary, to his thirst for alcohol. He's imperiled but not conflicted; if civilization collapsed, would he even notice?
As Schodt also notes, Seki disappears for long stretches, "and the story veers off in unexpected tangents, nearly running aground in the process." I'm going to have to respectfully disagree that the book suffers in the absence of its protagonist. He's a dimwitted encumbrance, and I found Tezuka's digressions much smarter and more mature. The tangential interludes where Tezuka illustrates the impact of Zephyrus's schemes are the most effective parts of the book.
The synthetic skin is initially embraced for purposes of vanity, but it evolves into a criminal tool. This development is best illustrated in a tangential story about greed and revenge rather than in the moments when Tezuka addresses that outcome directly. That kind of direct address actually results in one of the most cringe-worthy passages of the story, when American blacks flock to purchase the skin to pass for white, triggering violent riots in the process.
While Tezuka's intentions are undeniably good -- he's speaking out for equality and justice for the disadvantaged -- his execution can be lethally misguided and awkward. His rendering of blacks is undeniably if unintentionally racist to the point of grotesque. He meant no harm, and there's a cartoon apology for his ignorance in an early volume of Dark Horse's release of Astro Boy, but any other intention behind pages featuring these grotesque parodies is doomed to failure.
And while he clearly believes that women are mistreated singly and as a group, there's little in the way of event or character that empowers or redeems them. In Swallowing the Earth, women are ciphers, victims, vengeful automatons, or some combination of the three. It's frankly incomprehensible that so many of them would become smitten by Seki, which is yet another of his failings as a functional protagonist.
But even with those rather drastic failings, Swallowing the Earth is of value for the fulcrum point it occupies in Tezuka's career. It wanders and flails, but you can see the seeds of Tezuka's later, better work. It's fascinating to watch him fiddle with techniques he used to entertain kids and try and reposition them to serve an entertainment for adults even if that fiddling has decidedly mixed results. And whatever the failures of Swallowing the Earth as a story or moral argument, it still offers the opportunity to experience the work of one of the greatest creators of comics who ever lived. I believe that's always a worthwhile outcome.
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* Swallowing The Earth, written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian, adapted and edited by Daryl Kuxhouse, foreword by Frederik L. Schodt, Digital Manga, 520 pages, June 24, 2009, ISBN: 9781569700563, $24.95.
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* all images from Swallowing The Earth
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David P. Welsh has loved comics since his parents first used Archie and Casper to sedate him during long trips in the family station wagon.
He's worked as a reporter and editor for daily and weekly newspapers, and later sold out for the glamorous world of public relations. Prior to relocating to The Comics Reporter, he wrote his Flipped column for Comic World News for just over three years. He's written articles on comics for print outlets and a variety of other web sites.
He lives in West Virginia, which he says has gotten a lot easier since the Starbucks and Barnes & Noble opened up.
You may e-mail David with questions or commentary You can write to this site about David's columns
Mid-Day Monday Manga News Round-Up
* I don't know the major players, don't know the background and I frequently have a hard time parsing some of Didier Pasamonik's writing flourishes, but it looks a major move by Japanese publishers in a more formal fashion into the French-language market may be taking place through a reconstituted KAZE imprint? Yeah, that looks weird to me, too. Anyway, it appears as if whatever is going on will result in a quarterly and many more titles being published, opposed, perhaps to a kind of sustained licensing effort. I'd compare it to Kodansha going live in the US with an imprint, but this looks at first glance more like the various major Viz partners adjusting their orientation. If someone can explain this to me,
* over 3000 people attended a public memorial for manga creator Yoshito Usui, best known for his irrepressible Shin-chan character. I think this may be the first article where I've seen mentioned the possibility that his hiking-related accident in September just might have been a suicide, although the idea is fairly pooh-poohed right away.
* over at the Hero Complex blog, Liesl Bradner examines a recent work on Depression-era paper theater as a comics-equivalent, both in a formal sense and in the types of characters featured. If nothing else, you get to stare at a lot of bitchin' art. If you're more future-minded when it comes to your feature articles, there's an article here about how manhwa is maintaining its popularity as manga dips.
* finally, so as not to end this post on an arguable down note, the comics business news and analysis site ICv2.com notes that the latest volume of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece will set records for an initial printing in that market at 2.85 million copies pressed.
Go, Read: Exactly What The Man Says Dick Briefer's Frankenstein stories are probably best known in that they had both a humorous and serious run of stories, but they're just generally attractive, too.
Two That May Not Be Out In 2010; One Forgotten High-End Effort That Will
The blog at Forbidden Planet International notes that two potential comics of the year and decade, Footnotes in Gaza and Alec: The Years Have Pants, may both go Raging Bull on us and become part of lists done in early 2011 and in early 2020. That same posts links to a fine interview with each man, and I encourage you to follow them. I had previously thought we would get the Sacco but maybe not the Campbell, so that was news to me.
On the other hand, mysteriously not discussed much at all is the impending comics section to a special issue of McSweeney's celebrating the broadsheet-style newspaper. That looks to have gained a nice cross-promotional relationship with the San Francisco Chronicle. That comics section will be 16 pages long and features at least Chis Ware, Dan Clowes and Art Spiegelman.
Update:CR reader George Xydas notes as I certainly should have that both the books mentioned above are certainly out in an advanced sense, such as in copies for reviewers and through stores scheduled for advance signings, just not in that mass sense of an arrival date through Diamond and (perhaps) your local Barnes & Noble. Please forgive my sloppy analysis.
Go, Look: Great House Ad Gallery I could suggest that this gallery of old mainstream comic book house ads is of interest because of the sturdy design of the individual ads and what it says about what those companies wanted emphasized and when, but I'll admit there's a nostalgic thrill here as well.
When people think of ways the comics industry used to function they often cite the accessibility of 25-cent comics. Just as important was that slightly more hardcore fans had to work a bit money-wise and discovery-wise to get all the comics they probably wanted, without a real expectation this would ever happen. In other words, all the comics someone read as a kid may not be as important as all the comics they didn't get to read or that they wish they had; thus the power of these ads.
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* Yale and Yale University Press will receive a letter today signed by multiple free speech organization castigating their decision to leave images of Muhammad out of a new book on the Danish Cartoon Controversy.
* the wires and various newspapers of more focused, local interest are hopping with news that Mickey Mouse Plot co-conspirator suspect Tahawwur Rana has strongly denied involvement with attacks on Mumbai in 2008. For what it's worth, the group that's taken responsibility for those attacks deny involvement with Rana.
* if the next European Muslim controversy is to be about architecture, I can't tell if this is a boost or a step down for the comics medium. But the Danish Cartoons Controversy is sure as heck going to be cited about 10 billion times.
Prominent Retailer Buddy Saunders Doubles Down On Arguments That Comics Lacks Books For Kids
Over at the comics business news and analysis site ICv2.com, the prominent comics retailer Buddy Saunders revisits the notion of there being no kids comics for people to buy by pointing out that some retailers have expanded their inventory to include prose books that appeal to kids and that the prose industry has done a better job than the comics industry of meeting this readership. Saunders is an extremely prominent Direct Market retailer, a potential head on the Mount Rushmore Of Direct Market Retailers, so I think he needs to be listened to here.
Unfortunately, what he's done is essentially lashed an argument already exposed as "there aren't kids comics of the very specific kind that I recall when I bought comics as a child and demand to sell now" to a standard of "these kids comics initiatives of the very specific kind of comics that I recall when I was a kid and demand to sell now need to work as well as other initiatives in other industries aimed at kids." I mean, wow. As is the case with most arguments, if you define everything in very specific terms, you're going to win those arguments. I agree with Buddy Saunders: there will never be kids comics exactly like there were when his generation of retailers were kids that are going to work as well as current initiatives aimed at kids from major book publishers.
At the same time, I can also safely say that the entire nation will never again be held captive by the radio shenanigans of Fibber McGee and Molly.
So where does that leave us? It leaves us with a lot of all ages comics that could be sold and a lot of shops that won't even consider selling them because they're not exactly the way they'd prefer them to be: pre-existing best-sellers that celebrate a self-conception so specific it has its own smell. Saunders has partly re-defined the argument that the comics he would prefer not to sell and which many of his peers won't even begin to consider selling don't count because they don't sell well. The ironic thing is that this general attitude -- and I'm certain this is voiced by Saunders more than it's exemplified in his stores, but let's not begin to think one single second it's not exemplified in a lot of stores -- provides no one that might be in a position to make comics closer to what these sellers say they'd like to see any reason to believe that they should invest heavily in that kind of comic. Saunders wins; comics loses.
Postscript: I only wish it were as laughably simplistic as Saunders arguing there aren't enough comics for kids; if that were the case, I'd agree with him.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* the cartoonist Ty Templeton would like you to know that talent is bullshit.
* the comics agitator Frank Santoro shares a hilarious anecdote from a John Holmstrom interview in a forthcoming issue of 'zine supreme Cometbus as to how SVA put a pair of the all-time great cartoonists on their payroll.
* the critic and historian Charles Hatfield has penned a somewhat lengthy appreciation of JH Williams III here.
* not comics: it looks like they're going to hold off on making another Superman film until the legal hubbub surrounding the character comes to a conclusion. I figure this is good news; it'd be a weird time to make a Superman movie right now. I kind of feel bad for that Brandon Routh guy, though.
* the blogger and inker Charles Yoakum asks why people care so much about licensed properties.
In Case You Missed It, The CR Holiday Gift Guide Went Up On Friday I added a few books/ideas between first posting it and now; at some point in your life you really should consider giving someone you love a full run of Charlton's 6MDM comics
New TCJ.com To Launch December 1
I hadn't seen a formal launch date past sometime in December announced yet for the new on-line focused The Comics Journal, but contributor Rob Clough says that it's happening Tuesday, December 1. He also mentions that they are asking him for blog posts of less than 500 words and for a post (or more) on Saturday, which may indicate a more active, constant posting presence along the lines of, say, the Voices feature at Atlantic.com than the schedule maintained by holdover Journalista!, which has been weekdays-only and almost always one post per day.
First Thought Of The Day
I would like to thank my subconscious for the dream I had last night where I visited DC Comics and everyone was dressed in Curt Swan-style future clothing.
The top comics-related news stories from November 21 to November 27, 2009:
1. Former Union-Tribune cartoonist Steve Kelley files a reconsideration motion in his suit against his former employer; as one might suspect with the language involved, the case had been dismissed.
Quote Of The Week
"Everyone seems to know tie-ins are just cash-grabs. Everyone knows how much they suck. Everyone can even explain to 'newbies' like me why tie-ins have to suck. Nobody seems to expect any better of them. But then why are they still being published?" -- Curt Purcell
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today's cover is from one of the great publications of the underground comix era
Today is Black Friday 2009. Black Friday is the traditional first day of the hectic holiday shopping season.
Following are several suggestions for comics-related gift shopping. They are intended to help spur you along if you've decided that sequential narrative presents and things related to sequential narratives are to be on Santa's list this year.
As I have little chance of actually selecting something for your friend or loved one, please use this as a starting point only. There's a small chance I'll have discovered just the thing. More likely what follows will give you an idea as to what's out there, or spark some brainstorming that leads to an idea for something specifically suited to your loved one.
I'm also quite certain I'm forgetting a list of items and ideas equally as long as the one that follows. That list is almost certainly filled with quality works and books. I apologize profusely for their absence here.
Have fun today and the weeks ahead, and please remember a few simple rules about comics gift-giving:
1. When it comes to gifts, comics are best for people that already like them as opposed to people that may like them someday.
2. The bigger the comics fan, the more likely that person is to be very specific about what it is they want. Be careful!
3. Comics don't have the retail saturation of, say, DVDs, and some of the best things are carried by specific vendors or involve an element of handcraft, so make sure you have enough time to receive the thing it is you want to buy.
All that said: gifts are gifts. It's difficult to do anything wrong when giving someone a gift. Happy shopping, and here's to a fulfilling and safe holiday season.
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THE COMICS REPORTER BLACK FRIDAY HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE 2009 or 100-PLUS REASONS TO SPEND YOUR SHOPPING MONEY ON COMICS THIS YEAR
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TWELVE GIFT COMICS FOR THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
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1. HarperCollins' X-Mas Short-Story Adaptations
I had heard of two of these books as individual efforts but was surprised when a package from the publisher revealed all three -- The Gift Of The Magi, The Fir-Tree, A Kidnapped Santa Claus -- with similar design. It doesn't get much more Christmas-appropriate than gift items tied into the holiday. I think there will be people that like all of these. I liked the Alex Robinson one best -- something about his straight-forward adaptation flattered Baum's weird, stripped-down Santa legend.
3. Alec: The Years Have Pants, Eddie Campbell
I'm not sure this collection will get to you before Christmas, but Eddie Campbell's long run of autobiographically informed comics are about as dear and necessary as any comics made over the last 30 years. I so look forward to lugging this book around everywhere I go for the four weeks after I get it.
5. Footnotes In Gaza: Joe Sacco (Metropolitan)
My likely choice for book of the year, it's cartoonist/journalist Joe Sacco at the absolute height of comics-making powers walking us through an elaborate investigation into a pair of past atrocities and then, in a heartbreaking coda, gently questioning the entire enterprise in a way that pulls a second, just-as-compelling narrative out of the book like a spine and rib bones being lifted from whitefish.
6. A Drifting Life, Yoshihiro Tatsumi (D&Q)
Very few if any reviews of this massive autobiographical work from the great Yoshihiro Tatsumi note how completely mad it is on a certain level to follow a young man around as he reads and draws comics over the space of several decades. This book more than has the courage of that particular conviction, and I've never seen any artist invoke the relationship-warping monomania of creativity as well as Tatsumi does here.
7. Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli (Pantheon)
It's said when the great David Mazzucchelli moved from Marvel comics to his Rubber Blanket, a lot of his fans stared at those books not sure exactly where he was taking them. I imagine many who understood Rubber Blanket without a hitch may have stared at Asterios Polyp in much that same way. I can't imagine too many more enjoyable journeys in comics than to follow a fine cartoonist to the places he wants to take you.
8. Stitches: A Memoir, David Small (WW Norton)
The mainstream publishing buzz comic of the year, and an effective use of art within the memoir genre, making it a nice book to have to close down the decade.
9. The Photographer, Didier Lefevre and Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
I had mixed feelings about this award-winning book. Fortunately, 1) this isn't my Christmas list, and 2) Angelina Jolie and practically every adult art comics reader in Europe strongly disagree with me. With many more servicemen being sent into Afghanistan, it's also timely in a brand new way.
11. Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai, Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)
This is a stand-alone color volume from Stan Sakai done in conjunction with his anniversary year. It may have slipped some fans' notice or work as a gift to a newcomer or someone who used to read the series who doesn't anymore.
12. The Hunter, Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Darwyn Cooke's career-changing adaptation of the first Richard Stark Parker book just looks like something I'd give my dad, were he still with us. It would look great under the tree between a bar of soap-on-a-rope and a tie with little Santa heads.
General Commentary: Some years there are other gift items that crash this initial burst of gift ideas, like the Jimbo doll two years ago. I noticed after compiling a quick list this year that it was going to be all-book, an appropriate strategy for a year stuffed with great books. I don't mean to place any of these here above the suggestions below as just open the guide in a representative fashion. In a few cases, they're not even my favorite recent books of their type, but they feel more "gifty" than the ones I like more. I'll leave you to puzzle out which ones.
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FIVE BARGAIN GIFT IDEAS FOR A YEAR OF RECESSION
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1. Something via AbeBooks
This is the interface that I use to access used bookstores. One thing that such stores tend to have that comic shops usually don't is classic "cartoon books" from artists like Peter Arno, Charles Addams, Pat Oliphant, B. Kliban and so on. But you can frequently find all sorts of comics and comics-related books for cheaper than the standard, going price. It's worth checking.
2. Crafts
Like most men around the age of 40, I like to make coasters out of old comic book pages. You can use just about any old coaster project description that comes up when you search on Google. I prefer the take old coasters and fasten laminated comics imagery onto the top of them technique, but I've also used old CDs and cork to assemble some pancake-style. The important thing is to get good lamination and to be careful as you attach the art. Comics art offers a lot of opportunities for such handmade gifts if you're inclined to go that way. Be creative.
3. Various Calvin and Hobbes Books -- or Something Similar -- at Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble carries a lot of the classic Calvin & Hobbes collections at a reduced rate. That's a tricky buy for someone right now as many older fans will certainly have this material while a lot of younger fans may not know Calvin from Hobbes. But if you have someone for whom it's appropriate, those are good deals. I have to imagine a lot of work from recent years gets processed into the discount sections of such stores, so it might pay to look around in the discount sections.
4. Amazon.com's Used Books Options
Most comics in trade collections or in original graphic novel form come with an ISBN. In most of those cases, that means used copies can be sold on Amazon. I don't believe in selling review copies, but from the number of used books that pop up in the listings every single time there's a new comics release, I'm guessing most folks disagree with me. Not only can you find slightly older books on Amazon.com at a highly reduced rate, you should be able to find all-but-new ones at a discount as well.
5. Non-Mint, Not Super-Popular, Older Comic Books From A Shop Or On-Line Store
Most comic book stores sell discounted comics in some fashion. Ebay has given price-point noogies to many a store owner who once upon a time held onto comic books no one wanted for 15 years or more because they were certain that a dollar's worth of desire out there would someday and somehow compound itself up to $7.50. With a little effort, you can snag readable runs of unpretentious adventure comics ranging from Master of Kung Fu to Power Man and Iron Fist to Thriller to Camelot 3000 to The Intimates for less than $1.50 an issue. Try reliable on-line retailers like Mile High and MyComicShop.com (especially during their sales); try eBay for things like Chicago Comics' manga sales; try Google Maps or the Comic Shop Locator service to find a store near you.
General Commentary: I'm not kidding about the crafts. I made wrapping paper for a friend of mine a couple of years ago, and I may try some fold-over stationery this year. It's probably technically a violation of some law out there with some of these things, so don't sell them. Also, I think I may have noticed that they have certain Peanuts books at Barnes & Noble for the same generally cheap prices at which they're selling Calvin and Hobbes volumes. One last note about wrapping paper: comic book spreads are perfectly sized to wrap most DVDs.
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SIX WAYS TO FACILITATE THEIR DOING THE SHOPPING FOR YOU
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1. Gift Certificate From Amazon.com
Here's one way to let people buy comics for themselves, a gift certificate/gift card to the bookstore Amazon.com, which of course by virtue of comics' journey into the world of book sales is a prominent comics retailer just about any way you measure it. I think it's all gift cards now, but I love the look of that certificate. It looks like it lurched out of a computer circa 1991.
2. Gift Card From Barnes and Noble
There's an added advantage with an Barnes and Noble gift offering in that you can use it in the brick and mortar locations of the chain.
4. Gift Certificate From Your Local Comic Book Shop
Your shop may not do this, but it never hurts to ask. I imagine there are several that would take money from you and apply it to store credit even if there's not an official certificate in the offing.
5. Something From Someone's Amazon.com Wish List
I have an Amazon.com Wish List devoted to Marvel's Essentials and DC's Showcase reprint series, but I'm a nerd. Most comics fans just have a few comics on their regular Wish Lists waiting for you to purchase them.
6. Something From A Want List Someone Made At Their Local Shop
Many comic shops will let their customers leave a list of comics they want their friends and family members to buy them. If your store doesn't have a program like this, they might be convinced to do it for someone that asks nicely. This has the advantage of keeping your comics fan's local store in the purchasing loop. Many comics readers are devoted to their local shop in a way that's admirable and slightly scary.
General Commentary: I have a few friends that swear by the holiday gift registry/want list at the local shop idea. The low-tech version, of course, is asking the person you know and love for a list of books and hoping there's no overlap.
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EIGHT SUBSCRIPTIONS, THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
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2. Subscription to a DC Comic Book
This could make a nice nostalgia gift for a one-time weekly comic shop visitor. I'm not as familiar with these titles as I used to be, but I always like whatever Grant Morrison is working on, I hear people speak well of various Superman titles, and Geoff Johns is fairly burrowed in at the publisher.
3. Subscription to a Marvel Comic Book
Where once this was maybe the best way to guarantee getting a comic book, it's now an equally nice way to have a recurring gift that the reader might not otherwise pick up. I'd suggest whatever books Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction are working on. With the movie, it might be a good year to think about a sub to Invincible Iron Man. I liked the first few issues of the Hickman/Eaglesham Fantastic Four, and I bet they make that a parking spot for talented teams for the next few years.
4. Subscription to a TwoMorrows Magazines
There are certainly enough of the TwoMorrows magazines that one of them at least should be worthy of your attention. You can't go on buying them at conventions forever, you know.
5. Subscription to Shonen Jump
I had a gift subscription this past year and it was great to see that fat little sucker peeking out at me from the mailbox once a month.
6. Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited Subscription
Marvel's first serious step into the world of digital comics may not last forever, but some form of Marvel Comics on-line is certainly going to be the norm from now on. The thought of having a bunch of Marvel as close as a click or two of the mouse without having to store them actually seems sort of cool to me at this point in my life; I may give one of these subs a whirl.
7. DailyInk.com Subscription
It may eventually go the way of the Dodo as more and more syndicates choose the strategy of "free," but for the conceivable future there's DailyInk.com from King Features, a site that features old and new material at a size that actually rewards your reading it on a computer screen. A solid gift for your friend that knows which strips run on the Houston Chronicle web site as opposed to which run on the Seattle P-I's.
8. Subscription To John Porcellino's King-Cat Comics And Other Stories
The greatest of all mini-comics and a national treasure, King-Cat can be purchased in subscription form which the cartoonist will faithfully service over the next few years. In a perfect comic book America, these would be available next to check-out in every store the moment they were published, but that America does not exist yet.
General Commentary: I was sad to see two items on this list from last year, Nick Magazine and Shojo Beat, go the way of the Saturday Evening Post. Another great subscription value, The Comics Journal, is going on-line full-time. I'm tempted to buy a few classic comic book subscriptions myself -- some are priced at half the cost of buying them on the stands. Also, I'm not sure they always did this, but it looks like Twomorrows also has digital subscriptions.
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TWENTY-ONE SUGGESTIONS FOCUSED ON YOUNG PERSON-FRIENDLY GNS, COMICS AND/OR KIDS BOOKS WITH CARTOONIST HOOKS
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1. A Kids Book From Toon Books
The new line spearheaded by Francoise Mouly employs a staggering number of talents familiar to older comics readers, from Frank Cammuso to Eleanor Davis to Art Spiegelman to Dean Haspiel to CR pal Jeff Smith.
2. One of the Kids-Focused Books From First Second
A number of the graphic novels in the First Second line are aimed at kids at a range of ages, including the Tiny Tyrant successful Sardine series (up to six volumes for the latter, I think) for very young kids and the award-winning Laika for slightly older ones.
3. Bow-Wow Books
Formalist comics master Mark Newgarden co-authors this line of children's books that count on subtle visual effects and bright, funny plotlines. I've given these to a couple of families with really little kids and they've liked them enough to keep them in the heavy rotation for the several months since then.
4. Something From Shaun Tan
The success of The Arrival may open up all of the Shaun Tan-illustrated books for reading by comics fans interested in how he employs imagery. Most of them are all-ages friendly.
5. One of Richard McGuire's Children's Books
Richard McGuire's children's books -- What Goes Around Comes Around, Night Becomes Day, What's Wrong With This Book? and Orange Book -- are full of the sharp visuals and formal play that distinguishes his comics like "Here."
6. One of Lorenzo Mattotti's Children's Books
Mattotti provided book illustration as idiosyncratically colorful as any of his more famous comics albums on works like Eugenio. If they're not still on the shelves where you are -- they aren't where I am -- they're pretty easy to find on-line.
7. The Usagi Yojimbo Series, Stan Sakai
Oh, to be ten years old all over again and have these solidly-crafted, cartoony violent and engrossing comics ahead of me to read.
8. All-Ages Superhero Comics Efforts
Both Marvel and DC Comics have comics they publish aimed at younger readers, and many of them are quite a bit more fun to read by readers of all ages than a lot of today's continuity-obsessive, clenched-sphincter, standard comic books and collections.
9. Various Kids Comics, James Kochalka
James does a lot of comics for kids, all of which have an undeniable power similar to his work intended for adults.
10. The John Stanley Library, John Stanley et al (D&Q)
D&Q has begun a super nice-looking series of Seth-designed reprints of comics from the great John Stanley. They'll probably be among those books of your kids you'd rather they not color in, but I know parents whose kids have taken to these in a big way.
11. Various Books, Edward Gorey
Although I've focused mostly on current books for kids, I can't let the comics-related books I loved most as a child go without mention. There are stand-alone Edward Gorey books that are perfect for slipping into a stocking, and there are four fine anthologies -- Amphigorey, Amphigorey Again, Amphigorey Too and Amphigorey Also -- that are easy to track down.
14. Various Manga Series Out There For Kids
A ton of manga out there is certainly suitable for kids, just as a ton of it may not be depending on the household rules that apply. There's material that's hilarious and I think totally harmless in some translated kids manga I read that would have ended with my parents grounding me had I sneaked it over to Chris Cotton's sleepover. There's also manga that's aimed at adults that I would have no problem giving to a child of someone that employed me. Of series out there that I would have liked as a kid, Naruto, Yotsuba&!, Dr. Slump, Slam Dunk and Hikaru No Go all spring to mind as stuff I might have obsessed over in one way or another. For older kids and teenagers, this list becomes like 200 titles long. One thing to keep in mind is that manga is an area where people are really, really into what they're into and not into what they're not, so you need to be careful and might opt for a gift certificate or shopping spree or something like that.
15. Kids-Oriented Comics From Boom! (Boom!)
It seems to me that kids does a lot of book that may be good for kids -- some obviously so, some with maybe a flip-through by the responsible adult in the equation. There's a point in my life I would have given up burning ants with a magnifying class for two years if I could have had a Muppet Show comic book series.
17. Chiggers, Hope Larson
I picked up a copy of this sweetly-told summer camp story for the 12-year-old daughter of a friend a summer or so ago and she was thrilled by it.
While this series has taken up space either outside or under the radar of traditional comic book talking poins, it has sold scads of copies in the book market.
19. The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My, Tove Jansson (D&Q Enfant)
The last but certainly not the least on this short list. This book is lovely-looking, from the incredible pedigree of all things Moomin, and marks D&Q's first, tentative steps into potential full-time book publishing of this type.
20. Andy Runton's Owly Books, Andy Runton (Top Shelf)
One of the few outright indy-comics debut hits of this decade. A nice thing about it is that Runton has stuck around to do several books rather than just one and done.
21. The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly and Jon Scieszka (Abrams)
The nasty thing people always say about children's anthologies is that they feel like a bunch of kids' comics that adults would like to read. That doesn't seem to be the case with this amazing compendium, if multiple reviews from my friends with kids are any indication -- adults surely loving this material is the dessert here, not the main course.
General Commentary: This is a strong sampling rather than a comprehensive listing. I wanted more than any one single thing promote the idea that there are a lot of comics and comics-related items of interest to kids, if you dig a bit. All warnings about the highly particular nature of comics reading when it comes to gift giving applies ten-fold to kids, who invest greater significance in Christmas presents than hopefully you or I do.
*****
ELEVEN BOOKS MY 67-YEAR-OLD MOTHER LIKES
*****
1. Bone (One-Volume), Jeff Smith
My mom's a longtime prose fantasy fiction fiend, and she took great pleasure in this lengthy blending of the Carl Barks and JRR Tolkien traditions. The ongoing color volumes from Scholastic have been a hit, too, to the point that she read a color book recently and wondered if she had a whole new book.
2. Persepolis: One Volume Edition, Marjane Satrapi
My mom enjoyed this peek into another culture through the eyes of Marjane Satrapi, first as a child and then a teen, in the cartoonist's award-winning and reputation-making work. For Mom, the relative simplicity of Satrapi's drawing was a bonus rather than a hindrance: it made the book much easier for her to read, and she could impress upon it a vision of revolution-era Iran that might have been impossible for any artist to do justice.
3. Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits, Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd
Mom is old enough to have fond memories of buying Police Comics on the stands. You'd be surprised how many older people, if you have some on your list, can speak to some sort of memory of Cole in the comics pages or in Playboy. (Or if not Cole, someone like that.) This is an at-times melancholy book cut heavily with the energy of Cole's work in a way that comments on the text in a fashion missing from the prose when it appeared as an essay in the New Yorker. My mom was unfamiliar with the lives of of some of the poorly treated cartoonists out there, so this helped her see the field in a new light, as well.
4-5. Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, Posy Simmonds
My mother really, really, really enjoyed both of these books, Posy Simmonds' breezy adaptations that offer readers an attractive prose-comics combination as opposed to a straight-up American comic book approach to the form. Mom appreciated how the comics provided a range of effects not available to prose, like the background events that crop up from time to time while something happens in the foreground simultaneously or how the atmosphere of a room can change as a number of people fill it. The link above is to the UK listing, but they're both available from American publishers now.
6. Little Orphan Annie Vol. 1, Harold Gray
My mom is extremely fond of Little Orphan Annie, and has fond memories of following her adventures as a young girl in the late 1940s. While this book of early material doesn't feature the absolute best of what Gray would go on to do a bit later, it was surprising how quickly and in how many ways the cartoonist was up to speed from day one. I love the strip, too. No one carved space from a strip better than Gray.
7-9. Aya, Aya of Yop City and Aya: The Secrets Come Out, Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie
The big attraction here for Mom was the sweetness of the stories and their insight into a little-discussed area of the world (the Ivory Coast) during an even less-discussed period of time for that area of the world (the late 1970s). I think Mom probably also had a positive reaction to the visual sumptuousness of these books. They can be lovely.
11. Grimwood's Daughter, Jan Strnad and Kevin Nowlan (IDW)
Again, like Mouse Guard, it's the fantasy thing that appeals here with this early Fantagraphics story reprint. You'd be surprised how you can put together a little gift bundle for someone matching comics to a genre or favorite kind of story.
General Commentary: This is an updated version of Mom's list from last year, to reflect her comics-related reading since then. Mom's a reader with specific genre interests and not a lot of patience for comics that don't provide a positive visual experience in terms of clear storytelling and strong craft elements on display. I think her taste reflects that of a lot of readers out there.
*****
SIX WAYS TO GIVE BY GIVING BACK
*****
1. A Donation in Someone's Name to The Cartoon Art Museum
Of all comics' sources for donations this may be the least appreciated and also, as it turns out, one of the stronger performers in terms of routinely fulfilling their mandate.
4. A Donation in Someone's Name to the Hero Initiative
The charity formerly known as ACTOR (don't ask) has slowly grown in stature over the last few years, working behind the scenes to aid cartoonists in need and families of late cartoonists in dire straits.
6. Buying Items Or Services Related To One Of These Charities
Each one of the above charities at times may offer premiums or items as an inducement for you to donate, or as a flat-out sales mechanism in order to generate cash. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund site has a very elaborate store set-up, such as the above image related to its Neil Gaiman fragrances.
*****
TWELVE NOT-COMICS IDEAS THAT AREN'T A PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR BAKED GOODS
*****
2. Postcards From Jordan Crane
These are lovely, and in high rotation in my office as postcards. Others may even just want them as a little art book.
3. Postcards from Tom Gauld
One of my favorite comics-related items of the last five years, these get a lot of kudos from people outside of comics that receive and enjoy them.
4. Manga-related Toys
I'm not a toy person, but anyone with rudimentary googling skills should be able to find toys related to their favorite big-name series if they are out there to be purchased. Sometimes they are listed as "anime toys" in deference to the more popular of the two media here in the US.
7. A Moleskine Journal
I haven't spent any time talking about art supplies, and I'm not really qualified to do so, but one thing writers and artists all seem to like are the legendary notebooks made by Moleskine. By the way, a place to get really cheap notebooks -- not moleskine -- is at those big box bookstores; I've been picking up notebooks for $3-$4 a pop there for most of this calendar year.
8. Prose Works By Your Favorite Comics People Peter David, Mike Carey, Alan Moore and Warren Ellis are among those well-known comic book writers with prose works out there to track down and devour. Don't forget Neil Gaiman. Check the used books sites, too, where you can find gems like comics critic supreme Bob Levin's 1978 novel.
10. Something From Souther Salazar's Etsy Store
More and more artists are selling at least supplementary material through a spot at etsy.com -- Souther Salazar's is one of many I track for stuff I'd like to purchase. I believe the conventional wisdom is that the more churn you have in terms of offering new stuff the better you tend to do, so it's a good place to find cheaper items in particular.
11. A Comic Wallet From The Comic Wallet Guy
I can't remember the first person that sent me a link to a page where a guy makes wallets out of comics material like Batman #197 there, but I'm grateful. Never held one of these in my hands, so I can't fully endorse them, but they look pretty cool and for that price I would imagine they're at least solidly constructed or someone would have hollered by now.
General Commentary: This is another area of the guide where it's more clear than usual I wanted to suggest a general orientation regarding merchandise than promote any one item, because there's certainly an avalanche of material out there. Somehow I avoided mentioning any of the stores run by webcomics cartoonists, which are usually very aggressive with the supplementary items. Also, it occurs to me that a big supplementary item for comics anymore is movies related to single properties, including anime, which hopefully is easy enough for you to figure out on your own.
*****
FOUR WAYS TO ENGAGE GIFT-BUYING POSSIBILITIES IN MANGA
*****
1. Something From Osaumu Tezuka And Vertical Press
I believe 2006's Ode to Kirihito to be a fevered masterpiece of craft on a level with films like The Wild Bunch or White Dog; there is also much of interest craft-wise and story-wise and because it's Tezuka history-wise in 2007's MW and Apollo's Song. Vertical's also done a terrific job with the Dororo, Black Jack and Buddha series. Buddha is an all-time classic, Black Jack is a big hit book, and Dororo is the rare gift of something not obviously one of those first two things getting the deluxe treatment.
2. Various Volumes From Ongoing Series
Okay, this is advice that covers a ridiculous amount of material. Like saying "Buy Food From A Grocery Store." Frankly, manga can be a difficult buy as a present because much of it comes in long series of individual books and many of its readers have highly refined tastes. Chances are a manga fan is already following the series they like best, and they may not be convinced to buy into another series where they didn't scope things out and initiate the purchase themselves. It's a good crowd for whom to buy gift certificates and the like aimed at allowing them to continue on the path they're on. That being said, the link takes you to Shaenon Garrity's great list covering "overlooked" manga. I suppose there are some general strategies one might employ, like buying first volumes in a few series with promise to extend the one someone likes best, buying another series from a previously-enjoyed artist, or buying manga that relates to someone's hobby or other interests. Among the many, many series I could argue are openly appealing and addictive are Fumi Yoshinaga's Antique Bakery, Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba's Death Note, Ai Yazawa's Nana, Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf And Cub, Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk and Kiyohiko Azuma's Yotsuba&!.
4. PictureBox Inc. Manga
PictureBox offers work from artists like Takashi Nemeto, Yuichi Yokoyama, Ken Kagami and Hanakuma. Not a stinker in the bunch. I don't know how to do direct links to pages within the PictureBox site, but they're findable in the drop-down creators menu.
*****
FIVE WAYS TO GET YOUR HANDS ON HANDMADE BOOKS
*****
2. Mini-Comics From Little House Comics
No pair of artists has put out more quality mini-comics of a wide variety the last five years than Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing. This entry reminds us that it's worth tracking down artists' sites directly for the latest minis they might be offering. I know that's why I check out John P.'s site, for instance.
5. Mini-Comics From Poopsheet Foundation
This is the best source for a wide variety of mini-comics out there right now, and maybe the only one in terms of being able to track down historically important mini-comics. Rick Bradford is a swell guy, and I'm sure he'd be willing to work with anyone intimidated by the number of titles and artists represented if you were to contact him directly.
General Commentary: Handmade comics are certainly rare enough to qualify as a good gift, but you're also operating on pretty specialized cartoon turf if you're getting this specific. But this is comics at its beautiful heart. I hope that Bodega -- down except for its newest book titles -- gets back up again because I think comics can use that kind of "here is the best of the best" mini-comics site and between Bodega and Global Hobo I think we came somewhat close to having that.
*****
EIGHT COMICS-RELATED ART BOOKS I LIKE AND OWN, AND ARE WITHIN FIVE FEET OF MY DESK AS I TYPE THIS
*****
1. Gary Panter, Gary Panter (PictureBox)
I keep going back to this ambitious and exquisitely-priced PictureBox effort from a couple of years back, which is a huge positive for art books of this type. Plus it looks intimidating on my shelf.
2. Hot Potatoe, Marc Bell (D&Q)
This is really a book of cartoons, but I think it functions as an art book because I love staring at it.
3. The Wonder, Tony Fitzapatrick (Last Gasp/La Luz De Jesus)
Fitzpatrick and those who read his work as comics may disagree on whether or not this boxed set qualifies as a kind of sprawling graphic novel about memory and cityscapes, but we can all agree it's an art book with a lot of arresting visuals in it.
5. Bat-Manga!, Chip Kidd (Pantheon)
This is from a couple of years back, but I think remains a strong, appealing and very gift-like book for the right person.
6. The Art of Bone, Jeff Smith
I thought this was a super-solid book that fairly came and went on its first appearance. Also, there simply aren't as many major Bone-related books left to buy at this point as there used to be.
8. The ACME Novelty Datebook Series, Chris Ware
I love these books, and I think they're just as important a presence in terms of the visual diary comic form as Ware's formally-conscious comics stories are in the realm of art comics.
9. Postcards From Brussels, Dave McKean (Allen Spiegel Fine Arts)
There are more than one of these, I think, and I very much like McKean's work in vein. This is actually not near me when I write this, but I wanted to list it because this is the kind of book that can be purchased through Stuart Ng Books, along with a lot of limited edition sketchbooks and projects from various artists you love. I have Stuart Ng listed as a place to get old cartoon books somewhere below, but they're probably more valuable to me as a place to pick up art books.
General Commentary: I think there's a rich vein of art books to be explore if you're a comics fan, particularly in limited edition sketchbooks and projects that aren't around for very long. Like for instance I recall that Darwyn Cooke and Cameron Stewart had art books out last year -- maybe two years ago -- that were quite lovely, but I can't find a current listing for them now. So I guess this is a two-pronged entry. There are art books like the first eight that are somewhat widely available that I'd recommend just as I recommend any other book, and there are art books that kind of exist at the periphery of comics that I'd additionally suggest for fans of X, Y, Z cartoonist.
*****
EIGHTEEN WAYS TO GIVE THE GIFT OF ORIGINAL ART
*****
1. Custom Art From Gary Panter
The great Gary Panter continues to offer up custom art, drawn according to words that you provide him. Forget friends and any and all members of your family, this is what you should get me.
2. A Piece Of Art From The Comic Art Collective
This is a great site/service, where a lot of alt-comics talent has been allowed to upload art offerings for free. They don't have an agent selling for them, but they do get to keep more of what they sell that way. I've bought maybe ten pieces through this site over the years. One thing it's quite good for is the illustration work that a lot of these folks do that never gets seen but is sometimes more frameable and hangable than straight-up comics art.
3. Custom Art From Johnny Ryan
I have purchased two pieces of custom art from Johnny. The results in each case, one being Judge Dredd here, were phenomenal.
4. Original Art From Albert Moy
I've never purchased art through this site, so I can't endorse them, but the number of artists represented seems pretty staggering to me, and they're certainly a first-rate looking outfit in terms of their web presence.
5. Original Art From Comicartfans.com
I'm not familiar with this site, and can't vouch for it, either, but it seems to be a place where comics fans and a few professionals put up galleries of original art they own, including a large "classifieds" section of art for sale. I would imagine that many of the ads on the site might be helpful as well.
6. Original Art From Denis Kitchen Art Agency
Denis doesn't have as many clients as some people, but they're all heavy hitters like Frank Stack. Kitchen has a long enough track record in the industry I can certainly endorse him, too.
7. Original Art From Fanfare Sports and Entertainment
I don't know a thing about this company except that they strip their name into their jpegs. Looks like a fine line-up of comics talent, though, and it looks like they may more aggressively price to sell.
8. Original Art From Mike Burkey
Again, I have no personal experience beyond knowing they've been around for a while.
9. Original Art From The Artist's Choice
Over 60 artists represented at the site, including many of the finer practitioners of mainstream superhero comics art.
10. Original Art From The Beguiling's Art Store
Retailer Peter Birkemoe is a classy guy who runs a classy comics business, and I hear he does very well by his client artists. Just a staggering line-up of cartoonists with work available here, including Paul Pope.
11. Original Art From Hope Larson Through Her Etsy Store
I think you'll start to see more and more artists (like Livon Jihanian) use a not-exactly-their-personal-site place like etsy.com for their direct original art sales, so I'm happy to get one on this list. It's a good one, too. Larson's original art is very, very attractive.
12. Posters And Prints From PictureBox, Inc.
I haven't seen any of these up close, but PictureBox has been a first-class outfit so far in terms of its comics publications, so I would imagine their prints and posters are of similarly high quality.
13. Prints From Brusel
I have a beautiful Dupuy & Berberian print from these guys. I'm not sure what it's like to order from them, but I bet they have a different suite of artists than most American companies working this part of the market.
14. Prints From Buenaventura Press
Alvin started out from the printmaking end of things, and what he's had for sale in this department has always been first class. You'll groan when you see what's no longer available, which should spur you to get something that still is.
15. Prints From Dynamic Forces
I have no idea what their prints are like, but I know they certainly take a different, maybe more aggressive approach than most of the companies here in terms of who they're putting out there.
16. A Print From Todd Klein
The above -- obscured so the image can't be knocked off for piracy purposes, I'm guessing -- is "Comic Book Dreams," the third of three reasonably recent prints done by letterer Todd Klein. This time the collaborator is Alex Ross; previous collaborators on prints that will have new editions available were Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore.
17. Comics Or Other Original Art From Heritage Auctions CR pal Robert Boyd writes in: "I would add one source for the original art category, Heritage Auctions. They are an auction house in Dallas that do a lot of comics, and one can bid online like eBay -- although they also have floor auctions. I have found some reasonable deals there on old comic strip art. They sell a lot of mainstream comic book art as well, as well as some illustration art... I agree that original art is an especially wonderful gift."
18. A Print From Drew Friedman
He doesn't make comics the way he used to, but he certainly still makes unforgettable visual imagery.
19. A Scott Pilgrim Poster
This really needs to be on as many dorm room walls as possible.
General Commentary: This is a real starter set of recommendation -- the hardcore art buyers do all this stuff and go to conventions and buy stuff directly, which is a good thing to do but costs a lot of money, of course, and they buy from eBay, which is a strategy potentially loaded with difficulties in terms of getting what you think you're paying for. Artist's sites are an obvious great place to find stuff, too, like this one for Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer, which is an adjunct to their main site. I've given maybe a dozen pages as Christmas gifts in my adult life, and they're all on walls somewhere.
*****
FIVE NEWSPAPER-RELATED IDEAS
*****
1. Something From Patrick McDonnell
Patrick McDonnell books are a recent gift-giving tradition in my family. A very prolific and consistently fine comics author, with a number of jumping-on points for gift-buying. I wanted to list him here to represent all of those cartoonists currently in book serialization, which you can find as easily as typing your favorite strip's name into amazon.com. Many are from Andrews McMeel. Be careful with all modern cartoonists that you're not overlapping -- gift books are likely to feature cartoons published elsewhere and the big series are likely to have big collections and smaller collections that are easy to suss out if you remember to take the time.
3. Something From The Dark Horse Webcomics Line
Dark Horse has been doing well with print versions of super-popular webcomics, and I've generally liked the volumes I've read. This includes work from Nicholas Gurewitch, Chris Onstad, Jesse Reklaw and David Malki.
5. My Shorts R Bunching. Thoughts?: The Tweets of Roland Hedley, Garry Trudeau (Andrews McMeel)
I like to include one shameless gift-type book from a newspaper cartoonist on this list every year, and this time out the one that jumped out at me was this cute-looking book of "tweets" from Trudeau's television newsman Roland Hedley. People hardcore into comics either cut on or ignore Garry Trudeau more than they praise him as a great cartoonist anymore, but name me another cartoonist who could publish a legitimate joke book starring his 26th most popular character.
*****
OLD STUFF
*****
1. Old Comic Books From Ebay
Ebay is the great marketplace of old comics just like it is with most entertainment objects anymore; if you've bought a comic book for cheap recently, you likely have on-line auction sites to thank. All the usual warnings apply, but I've purchased some great books this way.
2. Old Comic Books From Mile High Comics
A lot of people bag on Mile High Comics, but I order a couple hundred dollars of stuff from them a year and as long as you avoid some of their more peculiarly priced items -- double-check every price you're given -- I've found them to be quite serviceable. I usually buy lower-grade reading copies from them during sales when you can get extra money off.
3. Old Comic Books From MyComicShop.com
Buddy Saunders' on-line shop is probably the comic shop in North America where year in and year out I drop the most money. A wide selection, half-way reasonably priced -- or so it seems to me.
4. Old Comic Books From Your Local Comic Book Shop
Most comic shops have an array of back issues ranging from stuff under glass to a quarter box or two of bargains. All sorts of comics and combinations of books can make fine gifts. Plus you just shopped local.
5. An Old Cartoon Book via Stuart Ng Books
I try to visit Stuart Ng Books every time I'm in southern California. They have a big of high-end art, and cartoon books that kind of run the gamut, price-wise.
General Commentary: This has been the biggest area of growth for me in terms of gift-buying over the last three years. I usually buy a family member or a friend a range of comics based on something that was a common experience a long time ago. Like one year I bought one of my brothers a run of odd Fantastic Four comics from the 1970s that we read together, once upon a time. The great thing about this is that you can buy such comics in really degraded conditions and they're still readable and fun.
*****
EIGHTEEN PERENNIALS
*****
1. RASL Volume One: The Drift, Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith's return to comics post-Bone put out its first collection late last year, an oversized book collecting the first three issues. I think RASL has been a fun story so far, skewing much older than Bone while featuring the same kind of genre mash-up at the heart of Smith's more well-known fantasy. The RASL collection in particular shows off elements of Smith's art that just never got a workout in Bone.
2. Books From The Ignatz Series
It's a sign of comics' great wealth right now that a series of volumes that would have crushed our hearts with their awesomeness back in the 1990s is merely another great vein of riches today. One great thing about the series is that some of the initially-launched titles are wrapping up.
4. Zot!: The Complete Black and White Comics, 1987-1991, Scott McCloud
I think this is one of the medium's really good stories for young people, and a nostalgic look back for those of raised in slightly boring neighborhoods with nuclear holocaust hanging over our heads who thought we could imagine ourselves away from both.
5. A Book (or More) From DC's Absolute Series
DC offers several of its more successful recent titles in deluxe, oversized editions that are generally quite nice-looking and gift-worthy. Some, like Absolute DC: The New Frontier above, are the really only suitable gift collection of that material. Others, like the line's take on the Promethea series, may change the way you look at the original comics.
6. Image's New Deluxe Hardcovers
Image Comics has been testing the waters on a few high-end hardcover collections of material, for titles like Invincible, Walking Dead, Silver Star and Casanova.
7. A Book (or More) From DC's Showcase Series
A cheaper, black and white series collecting lots and lots of material in progressive, issue-to-issue form, these books are generally a lot of fun.
8. A Book (or More) From Marvel's Essential Series
Marvel's huge series of giant books collected old material in cheap, black and white editions, there are more than enough books of this type to please any fan who remembers these titles and to launch a lot of jokes out of the meaning of the word "essential."
10. Hicksville, Dylan Horrocks, Black Eye, 1998.
There's a newer edition out from Drawn and Quarterly that's still in print, and that's where the link takes you, and an even newer edition than that due I believe sometime next year. If you don't have this book, you need this book.
11. Love and Rockets: The Latest Reprinting
These books are so good and so perfectly priced I not only got a set for a friend but I dumped my much-beloved albums in their favor.
12. One (or both) of those giant Andrews McMeel comic strip collections.
Although an extended series of such books seems like a no-go at this point, Andrews McMeel's giant collections of The Far Side (Gary Larson, 2003) and Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson, 2005) are still in print at deeper than ever discounts if you look around a bit.
13. Tales of the Bizarro World, Jerry Siegel and various, DC Comics, 2000
I've given this book as a gift more than any other comic book. If, like me, you laugh every time you see that stupid square planet hanging in the sky, this book is for you or your similarly-inclined friend.
17. Most Outrageous, Bob Levin (Fantagraphics)
The best book about comics and cartooning written to date: an almost impossibly sad and bewildering look at the life and eventual fate of Hustler cartoonist Dwaine Tinsley. So few people have read this -- and I understand the subject material is ruthless -- that it makes my soul hurt. It's the only prose work about comics where the next con I attended it spilled out of us as a topic of conversation, so good and so raw we couldn't help ourselves.
18. What It Is, Lynda Barry (D&Q)
Lynda Barry's celebration of the creative process and inquiry as to its effect on her life would be a welcome gift any year.
General Commentary: These are books that I've either purchased for people over and over again or seen purchased for people. It's not very different year to year, and not a very complicated or complex list, but I think it's a necessary one.
*****
TO WRAP THINGS UP HERE ARE SIXTEEN APPEALING NEWER COMICS OFFERINGS IN THE POPULAR BOOK FORMAT, REPRESENTING A SMALL AND COMPLETELY INADEQUATE SAMPLING OF SUCH VOLUMES OUT THERE RIGHT NOW SO SHUT UP I TRIED
*****
2. Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days, Al Columbia (Fantagraphics)
A potential book of the year: Al Columbia's haunting set of almost-complete drawings invoke a world where the very act of creativity summons evil.
4. AD, Josh Neufeld (Pantheon)
Josh Neufeld is about as nice as they come, so it pains me to say I'm not fully on board with this comic. The book is very clear, though, and I think would be a good one for people interested in Hurricane Katrina no matter their level of ability when it comes to reading comics.
5. West Coast Blues, Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
The second-best thing about this new Tardi initiative at Fantagraphics has been reading and listening to Kim Thompson enthuse about the great cartoonist. The first-best thing is that we get books like this lean thriller.
10. George Sprott (1894-1975), Seth (D&Q)
Maybe my favorite book of the year and one of the best, it's Seth's re-working of his New York Times cartoon into something big and mostly melancholy. I've read it or looked at it maybe a dozen times.
12. Refresh, Refresh, Danica Novgorodoff (First Second)
I can't remember if this is the second or third or fourth book from the cartoonist. It deals with those left behind by soldiers overseas. Very promising work.
13. The Little Nothings Series, Lewis Trondheim (NBM)
Nothing brings me more outright pleasure than this series of funny, wry autobiographical works from the great Lewis Trondheim. Another book will be published in January.
17. The Color Trilogy, Kim Dong Hwa (First Second)
First Second's first crack at manhwa. There are some lovely artistic effects in here, although I was disappointed by the series overall. I have to read it again, though.
19. You'll Never Know, Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)
A beautifully painted book by one of the world's greatest cartoonists, You'll Never Know is a work in progress that should find a special place in the hearts of those who lived with World War II veterans that could never bring themselves to talk openly and freely about the experience.
*****
If I didn't list your book, item, art or project, it's probably because I hate you. No, I probably just forgot. I'm sorry; don't be disappointed. It's hard to remember everything. I used to invite people to write in and suggest work I might have overlooked, but an ugly, entitled few ruined that exercise for everyone -- because yes, I love being lectured about how it's my responsibility to add 27 works by someone whose work didn't occur to me on my own. That said, I may add a few more books to various sections as they turn up. Happy Holidays to one and all.
* apparently, a Cagle round-up on Sarah Palin's book is worth its own news article. Save for the people in the professional reflection-of-society business, I don't understand anyone's interest, pro or con, in this person.
* speaking of Collins, I felt badly for him that most of the posters here missed his point regarding the AV Club's best of decade list and rankings. His primary argument as I understood it wasn't that rankings always work and are always awesome and time well spent, but that he felt the AV Club's failure to order their list was another choice among many that contributed to their list lacking specificity and weight.
* I don't take the calls for boycott that lead this article all that seriously. It's probably a late 2011 film and that's a long time for more than a few people at a time to stay mad. Still, it's worth noting for signs of the Herge estate pressing litigation in those countries with less of a firm commitment to the idea of fair use.
* I can't tell you how many times in the mid-1990s Gary Groth and Kim Thompson dreamed of someone breaking into the Fantagraphics warehouse and stealing all their t-shirts. One imagines that t-shirts sell differently now than they did then.
* announced over the weekend was Desperado becoming an imprint at IDW. That's the indie comics company that splits time between art books featuring cartoonists and more traditional comics, headed by Joe Pruett of Negative Burn fame. Desperado left a special arrangement with Image in 2007. It has books planned by George Perez, Tony Harris and Dave Dorman, with more to come.
* Chris Grine has announced a new volume in his Chickenhare series.
* Karl Stevens described his plans for 2010 when I asked him to. "I'm planning a new book for either May or June. It's going to be the Failure comics that were published in the Boston Phoenix from this past year, plus unpublished color and black and white work that ties it together. There will also be a gallery show of the originals at the Carroll and Sons gallery here in Boston of all the originals opening June 20 through the end of August, I think."
* CBRexplains the background behind the forthcoming Hero Initiative book featuring the work of Ed Hannigan. I did not know the archetypal 1980s superhero cover artist suffered from MS. I love that these projects are being done, although I worry that we don't have enough of an industry to push these things over the top the way they need to.
* I'm not certain if variant covers is a strategy that will ever take hold in alternative book publishing, but I don't mind if people try as long as the results are as pretty as this.
* the cartoonist Scott Kurtz is doing a one-sheet print of his recent storyline "The Incident." I'm surprised more cartoonists don't do story-based prints when they're well-received like that one.
* Richard Thompson has released a cover rough for a forthcoming treasury edition collection of his comic strip Cul-De-Sac. I hope this means that Thompson's strip will have a two-avenue book publishing strategy for as long as Thompson continues doing it.
Trinidad, who also worked as Celso Trinidad, was for a a time an assistant to Francisco V. Coching. It was with Coching he was initially exposed to comics work an where he developed an early style reminiscent of Coching's. According to a profile by Arman T. Francisco, Trinidad's work began appearing in the late 1960s.
Trinidad was one of many Filipino artists to find work in the 1970s with American mainstream companies, particularly with their fantasy, kung-fu and horror-related titles. He worked briefly on a variety of properties, including Conan, Dracula, Morbius, White Tiger, Killraven, Skull the Slayer and Bloodstone. Among those whose work he either finished or inked were John Buscema, P. Craig Russell and Ed Hannigan.
The artist was also a significant presence in Filipino comics and illustration. Alanguilan notes he won Best Serial Illustrator and Best Novel Illustration Fantasy Category honors at the KOMOPEB Parangal sa Komiks. With Mike Tan he created the superhero El Gato. During this period Trinidad developed a more wide-ranging set of styles that included a more cartoon-oriented approach. He would remain active in Filipino comics and in book illustration at least through the 1990s.
Go, Read: Curt Purcell On Crossovers
There's a fine reader's perspective rant against the directionlessness of mainstream comics crossover tie-in at Curt Purcell's place that I thought interesting enough to highlight. Purcell notes a kind of jaded realism about the quality of such efforts that seems to me, and I think to Purcell if I'm reading him correctly, has crossed the line into some sort of nebulous area where the companies expect people to buy unsatisfying art despite knowing it's unsatisfying art out of some sort of duty or momentum or a very, very limited chance they might enjoy it. This is weird, and I think it's the best example of how comics publishing can sometimes be disconnected from what many think is an everyday, common-sense approach to its market in the long-term. I can't tell you exactly where that disconnect is taking place, and I'm not sure anyone can, but a lot of us feel it.
The comics review panel at AV Club, whose best-known member in comics is probably Noel Murray, has released its list of best comics for the decade. Split into categories for new comics and for archival projects, they are:
NEW COMICS
* Achewood, Chris Onstad (achewood.com, 2001-present)
* The Acme Novelty Library, Chris Ware (Pantheon, 2005)
* All-Star Superman, Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (DC, 2006-08)
* American Elf, James Kochalka (americanelf.com/Top Shelf, 1998-present)
* Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli (Pantheon, 2009) * Black Hole, Charles Burns (Pantheon, 2005)
* Blankets, Craig Thompson (Top Shelf, 2003)
* Box Office Poison, Alex Robinson (Top Shelf, 2001)
* Criminal, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Icon, 2006-present)
* Daredevil, Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev (Marvel, 2002-06)
* DC: The New Frontier, Darwyn Cooke (DC, 2003-04)
* Eightball #23 ("The Death Ray"), Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics, 2004)
* Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
* George Sprott, 1894-1975, Seth (D&Q, 2009)
* Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Chester Brown (D&Q, 1999-2003)
* One Hundred Demons, Lynda Barry (Sasquatch, 2002)
* Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2000)
* Promethea, Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III (America's Best Comics/Wildstorm, 1999-2005)
* Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea, Guy Delisle (D&Q, 2006)
* Tales Designed To Thrizzle, Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics, 2005-present)
* The Golem's Mighty Swing, James Sturm (D&Q, 2000)
* The Goon, Eric Powell (Dark Horse, 1999-present)
* The Mystery Of Mary Rogers, Rick Geary (NBM, 2001)
* Why Are You Doing This? , Jason (Fantagraphics, 2004)
* Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan (Vertigo, 2002-2008)
THE ARCHIVES
* Bone One-Volume Edition, Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books, 2004)
* Krazy & Ignatz, George Herriman (Fantagraphics, 2002-present)
* Sundays With Walt & Skeezix, Frank King (Sunday Press, 2007)
* The Complete Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz (Fantagraphics, 2004-present)
* The EC Archives, various (Gemstone, 2006-present)
* I don't link a whole lot to Hooded Utilitarian, mostly because I frequently have no idea what Noah Berlatsky is getting at. A couple of weeks ago, Berlatsky responded to a post of Jeet Heer's that asserted Gary Groth's work in the Comics Journal was the magazine's best work because of reasons X and Y (best questions, most research) by ignoring X and Y, inventing his own Z (Gary's boomer indulgences) and then attacking the crap out of that Z. This week Berlatsky is answering Chris Butcher's article about retailers claiming there's a lack of children's comics by swearing that little boys love superhero comics. A debatable issue, maybe even an interesting one, but one that seems to me totally beside any point Butcher is making. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm genuinely confused.
* people are apparently upset about some Love Is... parody Zits characters. I have to admit, that doesn't sound like something I'd particularly enjoy seeing at breakfast, either.
* the writer Kurt Busiek would like everyone to know there are 10 years or more of Posy Simmonds comics out there waiting for someone to publish over here. Busiek has 63 Eisners! Somebody make this happen!
This Isn't A Library: New And Notable Releases To The Comics Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. But were I in a comic book shop tomorrow I would wrap each one in swaddling clothes to see if any were the Baby Book Jesus.
*****
Bring your platinum card, comics generalists:
AUG090239 SHADE THE CHANGING MAN TP VOL 01 AMERICAN SCREAM NEW PTG (MR) $17.99 AUG090240 SHADE THE CHANGING MAN TP VOL 02 EDGE OF VISION TP (MR) $19.99
I'm not sure how far into the series previous trade publishing initiatives for this seminal Vertigo title got, but my memory is that it wasn't very far, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this is the first time some of this material is in book form. Vertigo's not a strength for a me, though, so double-check.
AUG090208 WINTER MEN TP (MR) $19.99
This is the long-anticipated collection of the highly-regarded science fantasy series. Sure looks awesome; I'll be buying this before the end of the year.
SEP090530 ASTONISHING X-MEN TP VOL 05 GHOST BOX $24.99
I think this is the first post-Whedon/Cassaday trade for this title. I've only seen bits and parts and haven't stumbled across anyone talking about the series, but the artwork is awfully pretty.
SEP090032 BEASTS OF BURDEN #3 (OF 4) $2.99 SEP090012 THE GOON (OSW) #33 $3.50 SEP090024 USAGI YOJIMBO #124 $3.50 SEP090092 BLACKEST NIGHT #5 (OF 8) $3.99 SEP090222 NORTHLANDERS #22 (MR) $2.99 SEP090435 INCREDIBLE HERCULES #138 $3.99 SEP090438 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20 $3.99 AUG090718 DIE HARD YEAR ONE #3 $3.99 SEP090425 FANTASTIC FOUR #573 $2.99
A good week for pretty good serial comic books about which I have no extra comment beyond "there they are." The current Marvel books of interest -- Iron Man, Fantastic Four -- are included. It seems like it's been a while since an issue of The Goon came out. Incredible Hercules I think ends soon with a transformation into a title with a colon in it. I haven't caught up with the Dorkin/Thompson or the Chaykin Die Hard thing, although if I had a comic book shop within three hours I certainly would have.
SEP098102 IMAGE UNITED #1 (OF 6) BLANK CVR $3.99
There are about 8,000 cover variation on this Image founders + Robert Kirkman crossover, which is either hilarious or sad, I can't tell. Anyway, I have the same feeling when I see this as when I see movies like Transformers: they've moved on to someone else's childhood now.
SEP090494 INCOGNITO TP (MR) $18.99 JUN090606 CAPTAIN AMERICA DEATH OF OMNIBUS HC $64.99 AUG090543 CRIMINAL SINNERS #2 (MR) $3.50
Three sturdy to excellent efforts from Mr. Ed Brubaker and his talented comics-making partners. I'm not certain I'd ever want a giant book of Captain America comics, whether he dies or not, but I liked the individual comics. Like many people without a comics shop, I missed out on Incognito entirely.
JUN090890 A DISTANT NEIGHBORHOOD GN VOL 02 $23.00 MAY090842 PM23 YEARS OF THE ELEPHANT GN $18.95
Two from Fanfare/Ponent Mon in the same week? What's next, an offering from Star Comics? Seriously, these have to be in the top five of books you'll have offered to you this week and both are potential book of the year candidates. The Distant Neighborhood stuff is as good as advertised and I think a lot of people may be surprised by the Willy Linthout book.
SEP090832 GANGES #3 $7.95
The likely book of the week in a very, very, very strong week overall. I don't think people will fall in love with this Kevin Huizenga effort the way they did the first two (and particularly the first one) in this great-looking Ignatz series, but it's as challenge and rewarding a read as those two initial books.
JUL090829 MOYASIMON GN VOL 01 $10.99 OCT091124 NAOKI URASAWAS MONSTER TP VOL 01 (O/A) $9.99
Two auspicious manga debuts. The first is the new series you want to read, the second is an offered/again from a series I hope you're reading -- or will consider doing so now.
SEP090663 SPARKY O HARE MASTER ELECTRICIAN GN (MR) $8.99 SEP090662 PROPER GO WELL HIGH GN $19.99
Two from Blank Slate, even! I really like the cartooning in the first book, a comedy by Mawil with an anthropomorphic element, and I like the second book (from Oliver East) generally.
SEP090429 IMMORTAL WEAPONS #5 (OF 5) $3.99
I think this is the last of the Iron Fist books for now, or we're getting close to it. I was going to just post some Lost Horizon lyrics here, but the Internet has failed to cough them up. Are there no Bobby Van fans left?
SEP090523 STAR COMICS TP ALL-STAR COLLECTION VOL 01 GN $19.99
Well, shut my mouth.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I didn't list your comic here, we might gonna have us a showdown.
Steve Kelly Files A Motion Of Reconsideration In U-T Lawsuit According to a short piece in the San Diego Reader, former Union-Tribune cartoonist Steve Kelly has filed a reconsideration motion with Judge Jay Bloom, who threw out Kelley's suit against his one-time employer earlier this month. The motion focuses on documentation of a alleged progression in testimony by current Union-Tribune cartoonist Steve Breen. The article at the link has all the pertinent details.
Ken Krueger, 1915-2009
Kenneth C. Krueger, a co-founder of Comic-Con International and a human link between that convention and 1939's World Science Fiction Convention, died on November 21 following a heart attack. I believe he was born in the Buffalo area, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II after enlisting in July 1941.
Krueger was one of the initial generation of super-fans whose devoted interest in a number of areas of science fiction and fantasy helped give rise to institutions like CCI, for which he served as its first chairman. Krueger was a devoted collector, a shop owner, a bookseller, I believe briefly a science fiction publisher and also ran warehouses for prominent Direct Market distributors Pacific (Sparta, Illinois) and Capital City (Los Angeles). Krueger apparently maintained a relationship with Comic-Con International, and notices of his passing say was able to attend some of last year's anniversary celebrations, where he was honored for his early involvement.
Another Day, Another Sale: AdHouse
AdHouse Books joins Buenaventura Press and SLG as major fixtures in the indy/alt comics market having a pre-Black Friday shopping season launch sales event. The good news is that AdHouse isn't claiming financial hardship in their newly announced sale. The bad news -- not really bad news, maybe the opposite of bad news all things considered -- is that this site is less interested in sales unless there's a survival component involved. Still, a company like AdHouse can never be doing great, and what they're offering are a few of their best books and a lot of "let's see what that cartoonist is like" individual issues, so from that point of view the sales will serve any fans of quality funnybooks.
If I were doing an order it would be a copy of the latest in maybe their flagship series Process Recess Vol. 3; a copy of perhaps the best book they've done, Driven By Lemons; individual issues of J. Chris Campbell's Zig Zag because it's pretty and Zack Soto's The Secret Voice because it's imaginative and cool, and a copy of Lamar Abrams' Remake because it's the kind of new voice, one-shot book that AdHouse routinely does well. But that's a generally strong group at good prices.
* here's a fairly lengthy interview withNY Times comics reporter George Gene Gustines. I'm not sure if that article instigated these thoughts about the Times' lack of manga coverage by David Welsh, but I've always found the New York Times coverage fairly disappointing, for among many reasons that it seems to strongly favor mainstream publishers (especially DC). It's fine coverage, usually, for that kind of super-positive feature writing that marketing people and fannish boosters love, but it tends to be something other than "publication of record"-oriented coverage, at least not for this art form.
* it does not get any better in link-blogging than to be able to type "John P. videos."
* missed it: this post about the alumni activity regarding Class of Flight Vol. 1 is nice in that they all seem to be working, although it also underlines the fact that they did not, in fact, create a comic book revolution and change the industry around them. Well, not yet.
* prominent bloggers Chris Butcher and Heidi MacDonald ask the same question I did about the recent run of "where are the kids comics?" on ICv2.com, and come to roughly the same conclusions I did: that there are a fair amount of books aimed at kids, that there even a number of okay superhero books aimed at kids, that what many shoppers in traditional comic book shops are really looking for is to have their kids read the exact same kinds of books they read as a kid, and that this is sort of weird. I think it's worth mentioning that I believe the initial complaint about there being no comics for kids came from Buddy Saunders, one of the mainstays of the Direct Market as it has developed over the last 30 years. That's worth mentioning because it makes it hard to dismiss this restrictive conception of the comics medium as an aberrant view within that market. It's not, and that's frustrating for many people.
* finally, here's another article a lot of people are discussing: pioneering comics-friendly librarian Robin Brenner breaks out the circulation figures for her library, describes them in some detail, and ventures a conclusion or two. I always like hearing about under-publicized success stories, even if the parameters for that success are narrowly described.
* a bunch of you corrected the phrase "series and trade(s)" on those series that didn't have them. I intended at first that that describe the kind of approach the publisher took as opposed to whether or not the trade was actually published, but I muddied the waters there and appreciate your corrections.
* Williams Burns wrote in to say, "It's not an imperishable classic, but I'd say Incredible Hercules deserves a spot on a list of 83."
* John McCorkle wondered why I didn't include Captain America: What Price Glory, and suggested Startling Stories: Banner, Astonishing X-Men, Buffy Season 8, Captain Britain Omnibus, Orion, and Stormwatch: Team Achilles.
* Lee Leslie suggested one or more of the many Hellboy series; Casanova, Heavy Liquid, Northlanders, Scott Pilgrim, Conan and Y The Last Man.
* Chris Duffy risked my undying enmity by suggesting a book he worked on, Bizarro Comics. He also says "I also think for some reason Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers is important."
* a couple of you made suggestion lists that included so many books already on the list I didn't feel like sorting it out for you. I appreciate the effort, though.
* Mark Coale sent in a list of Agents of ATLAS, Wisdom, Incredible Hercules, Marvel Monsters, Hellcat, The Goon, Casanova, Batgirl: Year One, both runs of Detective Comics from Greg Rucka, Wonder Woman by Rucka, Checkmate by Rucka, Enemy Ace DC Archives, Green Arrow by Brad Meltzer, Starman Omnibuses, and then various kids comics by category.
* Chris Beckett enjoyed the list but suggested perhaps adding Nexus Archives.
* Don MacPherson wrote in to suggest, Irredeemable, Dr. Strange: The Oath, The Spirit #1-12, The Twelve, Secret SixThor, The Incredible Hercules and Agents of Atlas Vol. 1.
* Philip Rippke sent in a note suggesting the consideration of Fantastic Four #51 to the renumbered #524 (27 issues), Iron Man: The Inevitable, Marvel Boy and Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman: Trinity.
* Matthew Wave suggests The Doom Patrol Archives and The Herbie Archives.
* Kenny Penman wrote in to say we might consider giving the nod to Teen Titans Year One for Karl Kerschl's art the same way we revere runs of comics from previous decades for the art alone.
* Sean T. Collins wrote in to say I should maybe include the Hellboy stuff and books related to it, and says the Banner book is a better common than the same creative team's Cage.
* Cole Moore Odell wrote in suggesting Johnny Ryan's Marvel-related work and Jeff Parker's work generally.
* Marc-Oliver Frisch wrote in to suggest that CR consider Cable #97-107/Soldier X #1-8; The Hood, Blank Panther by Christopher Priest; Truth: Red, White & Black.
* Evan Dorkin likes Jack Staff.
* Steve Stwalley thinks it's not a good superhero list until it has some Flaming Carrot on it.
* Chad Nevett suggests the Casey-Phillips (and briefly, Dillon) run on WildCATS volume two as a supplement to the WildCATS 3.0 listing. He also thinks the last chapter of Casey and Adlard's Codeflesh makes the cut.
* Scott Puckett wants to know, "How is it that no one mentioned The Authority, Atomic Robo (not sure if that really hits the superhero genre), Demo, Global Frequency, Johns' Green Lantern run or Vaughan's Runaways?"
* Neil Kleid wrote in to yell at us: "How could you leave off the amazing Spider-Man: Tangled Web series? The Darwyn Cooke story alone should sell you if not the J Jonah Jameson story or Frog-man issues...!"
* Finally, David Welsh wrote in to suggest that original Agents Of Atlas mini-series and Empowered.
Flipped!: David Welsh On Manga-Related Developments For Which He's Grateful
By David P. Welsh
I enjoy any holiday centered almost entirely on eating, so I like Thanksgiving. I can't say that it makes me particularly contemplative in the intended way, and I'm relieved that there's no tradition in my family of going around the table and expressing individual gratitude before we can gorge. (A brother-in-law suggested we do that one year, and the results were sufficiently caustic that the experiment wasn't repeated.) Aversion to that kind of sentiment aside, there are a number of things going on in manga publishing for which I'm particularly grateful, so I'll make an exception and get in the non-caloric Thanksgiving spirit. Here are some manga-related developments for which I'm grateful:
The imminent ascendance of Natsume Ono: Each year there seems to be a manga-ka who goes from virtually unpublished in translation to ubiquitous. Notable past examples include the marvelous Fumi Yoshinaga and the eccentric You Higuri. Ono, who doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry yet, seems to be on deck for this treatment, and I couldn't be more pleased at the prospect. Her first translated work has been The House of Five Leaves, serialized on Viz's SIGIKKI site, and it's low-key and enticing entertainment. It's about an out-of-work samurai who falls in with an eclectic group of professional kidnappers, and it combines delicate, incremental character development with intriguing moral ambiguity. It's also gorgeously fragile in terms of Ono's illustrations. Next up from Ono is not simple, a contemporary tale of fractured families and world travel. Ristorante Paradiso is on deck for March of 2010, followed in short order by its sequel, Gente. Comics can always use more talented, idiosyncratic creators, and Ono seems likely to be a welcome addition to that roster.
Vertical's commitment to Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack: Classic manga, even comics by an undisputed master like Tezuka, don't always reap the commercial success they deserve. I'm not sure what the numbers are for Black Jack, but I am sure that there should always be some new-to-us material from Tezuka arriving on retail shelves. Beyond these comics' historical significance and the way they offered an abundant toolbox to all of the creators that followed, I've yet to read a comic by Tezuka that wasn't at least very, very entertaining. Unlike some of Tezuka's more ambitious works, Black Jack aims mostly to divert with over-the-top medical melodrama, and it consistently succeeds in that aim. Tezuka's prodigious skills as a cartoonist and his training as a physician fuse to create episodic entertainment that's tense, funny, creepy, inventive, and eminently readable. It's not a series that demands your attention, but it definitely rewards it.
Manga conversation on Twitter: One of the reasons I started writing a blog was because I enjoy engaging with other nerds about nerdy things. I still enjoy blogging, but I find that the immediate, 140-character gratification of Twitter is an excellent supplement to the (theoretically) more contemplative discourse of weblogs. Many publishers still seem to be figuring out what to do with their Twitter presences, and many of them haven't evolved beyond the intercom at the big-box store, announcing specials in the housewares department. Opinionated readers, on the other hand, have hit the ground running. To start, check the #mangamonday hashtag for recommendations and mini-reviews. For a good sampling of manga publishers and pundits chatting on Twitter, click here. For a more general list of comics personae, try this.
The stabilization of Tokyopop: 2009 was not particularly kind to Tokyopop, what with the loss of many of its licenses to Kodansha, and 2008 didn't invite many scrapbook opportunities either, marked as it was by massive employee layoffs. But it's still here, it's still acquiring new licenses, and it's returned books like Mari Okazaki's exquisite office-lady drama Suppli to the schedule. Right up until the 2008 implosion, Tokyopop indulged in the kind of marketing hyperbole that all but guaranteed at least a certain degree of Schadenfreude when things inevitably went south, but the publisher's more subdued, direct communications of late seem to have muted that reaction. If the company seems chastened, it also seems more focused and professional.
CMX's taste in shôjo: DC's manga imprint does a lot of things right, picking interesting titles from a variety of demographic categories. I think they deserve special mention for their choices in the sector of comics created for girls. This has been the case since the imprint's launch, and 2009 has reinforced the impression. One of my particular favorite recent offerings has been Natsune Kawase's two-volume The Lapis Lazuli Crown, which embodies a lot of the qualities I associate with CMX shôjo: gentle wit, easy charm, and attractiveness. It's about a young, inept sorceress who dedicates herself to improving her potentially significant magical skills and finds romance and purpose along the way. Kawase's pages are crisp and cute, and her characters are instantly likeable. It's not alone in CMX's slate of engaging 2009 arrivals. Due this week is the adorable-but-not-saccharine The Lizard Prince by Asuka Izumi. Darker and deeper is Ken Saito's The Name of the Flower, and it's earned a lot of critical admiration. And it should never be forgotten that CMX is doing almost all of the heavy lifting in terms of publishing classic comics for girls, continuing with Yasuko Aoike's From Eroica with Love and Kiyoko Ariyoshi's Swan.
The reinforcement of the category of comics for grown-ups: Best-seller lists may be dominated by comics for younger audiences, but it's hard to imagine fans of sophisticated, challenging work feeling particularly deprived at the moment. From Yoshihiro Tatsumi's massive autobiography, A Drifting Life, to Daisuke Igarashi's exquisite Children of the Sea, to not one but two new series by Naoki Urasawa, to Junko Mizuno's mind-bending Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu, it's been a year of extraordinary debuts. Factor in new volumes of ongoing series like Takehiko Inoue's Real, Yuki Urushibara's Mushishi, Hiroki Endo's Eden: It's an Endless World!, and others, and you can't help but see 2009 as a year of extraordinary abundance. You don't even have to pay for it if you don't want to, which brings me to my last cause for thankfulness.
More free stuff: Is Viz making an end-run around piracy sites with its online initiatives SIGIKKI, Shonen Sunday, and The Rumic World? Probably. Are these efforts a strategic loss leader to encourage readers to sample, and then buy? Certainly. Does it matter when there are so many good comics available to read for free with the support and compensation of their creators? Not one iota. I hope we see more legitimate online manga offerings in the coming year. It's like a magazine without the dead trees or distribution and production hassles.
*****
* bottom and top images from Natsume Ono and Daisuke Igarashi; other covers according to their titles.
*****
David P. Welsh has loved comics since his parents first used Archie and Casper to sedate him during long trips in the family station wagon.
He's worked as a reporter and editor for daily and weekly newspapers, and later sold out for the glamorous world of public relations. Prior to relocating to The Comics Reporter, he wrote his Flipped column for Comic World News for just over three years. He's written articles on comics for print outlets and a variety of other web sites.
He lives in West Virginia, which he says has gotten a lot easier since the Starbucks and Barnes & Noble opened up.
You may e-mail David with questions or commentary You can write to this site about David's columns
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* the Canadian news reporter Abbas Rana has come out in defense of his brother, Tahawwur Rana, one of the alleged Mickey Mouse Plot co-conspirators. I'm not sure there's all that much that's newsworthy in such a defense, although it's clear that Rana will be tried on a different track than David Coleman Headley and the family and friends of the Chicago-based travel agency owner have been forthright in their declarations of innocence. One thing I hadn't know is that Headley scouted the Jyllands-Posten newspaper where the Danish Muhammad Cartoons were published as a potential place for Rana's agency to place ads.
* no matter who's guilty and who's innocent, kudos to Abbas Rana's publisher for his public show of support to his not involved save by blood employee during what must be an awful time for that family.
* future US tourists hoping to go to Denmark may need to pass increased security scrutiny if not outright have some sort of purposeful visa. Blame in part goes to the Headley and Rana arrests.
Your '10 Prix De La Critique Finalists
The Association des Critiques et journalistes de Bande Dessinée (ACBD) has named the five finalists for their big 2010 prize, the Grand Prix de la Critique. I don't know anything about these books, but I find it somewhat odd that a critics' prize would come down to work from big publishers like this -- although maybe there's stratification of which I'm unaware and these are all different. Anyway, the books selected are:
* Dieu en personne, Marc-Antoine Mathieu (Delcourt)
* Droit du sol, Charles Masson (Casterman)
* Il était une fois Vol. 3, Sylvain Vallée and Fabien Nury (Glénat)
* Notre mère la guerre, Vol. 1, Maël and Kris (Futuropolis)
* Rébétiko: la mauvaise herbe, David Prudhomme (Futuropolis)
The grand prize winner will be named in early December.
Marvel Bigwigs Set To Make Out Like Bandits On Disney Acquisition Deal The article is pretty much what's described in the headline there, an accounting of what some of Marvel's major players stand to make as the acquisition deal is consummated. I don't want to sound all 3 AM in the dormitory hallway about it, but I do think it's worth noting just where the money goes when a deal takes place, and that we might keep that in mind the next time someone rages about the arrogance of a creator wanting some $5K they're owed, or a family expresses sadness that the patriarch of their family negotiated himself out of a credit 50 years ago or any number of similar, depressing circumstances. The system works, sure, but for whom?
Go, Look: The Excuse Club Allan Holtz suggests something here I'd never thought about before: that the evening papers were once upon a time more ribald because they were essentially commuter publications for working dudes
* the magazine empire publisher turned multiple-convention organizer Gareb Shamus is going back to Boston.
* Brendan Wright has a short post up about artists drawing on the back of their original art intended for more commercial purposes, and has a nice pair of examples from Stan Sakai. If I remember correctly, John Buscema was one of the kings of this.
* Graeme McMillan looks at why James Rhodes is the ideal black comics book hero. I'm not sure if I have anything to say on this subject. I remember when the movie came out I was talking about it with some long-ago comics fans who had fond memories of the comic from the late '70s and early '80s. When the subject of Rhodey came up one of them thought Terence Howard was a terrible choice and suggested, from out of nowhere, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be a better one. Okay, we were all a bit drunk, but I have no idea what it says about that character that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would actually work.
* in things about this site that only interest me news, I sat down the other week in a doctor's office and in 40 minutes wrote out all of the Five For Friday topics for 2010. If I had done this in a psychiatrist's office, it's all I would have talked about.
* it looks like some Green Arrow art was used without the artist's permission and without the comics company's permission. That's wrong no matter what politics are involved.
CR Sunday Feature: Building A List -- The 83 Best Superhero Projects Of The Decade We're Leaving
I'm still in the process of building my Best Of lists for the decade we are currently exiting. I realized that I was close on superhero comics to having a representative list, or at least a first good shot at one, so I thought I'd post that stage here today. My final superhero comics list, due in early 2010 along with my overall list, will be posted, shortened a bit, altered slightly (I may change my mind, I may find new comics, I'm still not sure what to do with some comics like Solo) and ranked #1 to #whatever. It will also have some hopefully insightful comments as to the value of each project.
In the meantime I thought I'd make this list public in the hopes that someone might point out those comics of high quality I'm clearly missing -- please note I'm running a pretty tight definition of superhero comic for the purposes of this list -- or For one thing, I'm completely drawing a blank as to what might be on-line, or what random book featuring a superhero might have come out in Europe, or quality short stories in anthologies or as back-ups.
I hope the list will spur conversation about an interesting decade in superhero comics.
As always, anyone who writes in suggesting/demanding their own work needs to have a place on the list does so at the risk of my long-term contempt.
*****
* "3 Jacks," Daredevil #500, stand-alone story, Ann Nocenti and David Aja, Marvel (2009)
*****
* 52, series and trades, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison and Greg Rucka and Mark Waid and Keith Giffen and JG Jones et al, DC (2006-2007)
*****
* Absolute Watchmen, archival project, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, DC (2005)
*****
* Alias, series and trades, Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, Marvel (2001-2004)
*****
* All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, series and trades, Frank Miller and Jim Lee, DC (2005-)
*****
* All-Star Superman, series and trades, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, DC (2006-2008)
*****
* Astro City: Dark Age Vols. 1-3, series and trades, Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, DC (2005-2009)
*****
* Automatic Kafka, series, Joe Casey and Ashley Wood, WildStorm (2002-2003)
* "Teenage Sidekick," Solo #3, stand-alone story in anthology, Paul Pope, DC Comics (2005)
*****
* The Boys, series and trades, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, DC/Dynamite Entertainment (2006, 2007-)
*****
* The Dark Knight Strikes Again, series and trades, Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, DC (2001, 2002, 2003)
*****
* "The Death Ray," Eightball #23, stand-alone publication, Dan Clowes (2004)
*****
* The Fletcher Hanks Collections: I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets and You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation, archival projects, Fletcher Hanks, Edited By Paul Karasik, Fantagraphics (2007, 2009)
*****
The Intimates, series, Joe Casey and Guiseppe Camuncoli, DC (2005)
*****
* The Invincible Iron Man, series and trades, Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca, Marvel (2008-)
*****
* The Middleman, series and trades, Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine (2006)
*****
* The Order, series, Matt Fraction And Barry Kitson, Marvel (2007)
*****
* The Pulse, series and trades, Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, Marvel (2004-2006)
*****
* The Secret Voice, stand-alone publication, Zack Soto, AdHouse (2005)
*****
* The Seven Soldiers Omni-Series, series and trades, Grant Morrison and A Cast Of Dozens, DC (2005-2007)
*****
* The Silver Star, archival project, Jack Kirby, Image (2007)
*****
* The Ultimates Vols. 1-2, series and trades, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, Marvel (2002-2008)
*****
* The Umbrella Academy Vols. 1-2, series and trades, Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, Dark Horse (2007-2009)
*****
* Thor: Godstorm, series, Kurt Busiek and Steve Rude, Marvel (2001-2002)
*****
* "Ti-Girls Adventures," Love and Rockets Vol. 3 #1-2, story in series, Los Bros Hernandez, Fantagraphics (2008-2009)
*****
* Top Ten: The Forty-Niners, stand-alone publicationAlan Moore and Gene Ha, DC (2006)
*****
* U.S. War Machine, series, Chuck Austen, Marvel (2001-2002)
*****
* Ultimate Spider-Man, series and trades, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley and Stuart Immonen, Marvel Comics (2000-2009)
*****
* Unstable Molecules, series and trade, James Sturm and Guy Davis, Marvel (2003, 2004)
*****
* Wanted, series and trade, Mark Millar and JG Jones, Image (2003-2005)
*****
* WildCATS 3.0, series and trades, Joe Casey and Dustin Nguyen, DC (2002-2004)
*****
* X-Force #116-129/X-Statix #1-26/X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #1-4, series and trades, Peter Milligan and Mike Allred, Marvel (2001-2004, 2006)
*****
* Zot! The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991, archival project, Scott McCloud, HarperCollins (2008)
*****
Your Responses:
A ton of you wrote in with responses. Thank you so much.
* a bunch of you corrected the phrase "series and trade(s)" on those series that didn't have them. I intended at first that that describe the kind of approach the publisher took as opposed to whether or not the trade was actually published, but I muddied the waters there and appreciate your corrections.
* Williams Burns wrote in to say, "It's not an imperishable classic, but I'd say Incredible Hercules deserves a spot on a list of 83."
* John McCorkle wondered why I didn't include Captain America: What Price Glory, and suggested Startling Stories: Banner, Astonishing X-Men, Buffy Season 8, Captain Britain Omnibus, Orion, and Stormwatch: Team Achilles.
* Lee Leslie suggested one or more of the many Hellboy series; Casanova, Heavy Liquid, Northlanders, Scott Pilgrim, Conan and Y The Last Man.
* Chris Duffy risked my undying enmity by suggesting a book he worked on, Bizarro Comics. He also says "I also think for some reason Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers is important."
* a couple of you made suggestion lists that included so many books already on the list I didn't feel like sorting it out for you. I appreciate the effort, though.
* Mark Coale sent in a list of Agents of ATLAS, Wisdom, Incredible Hercules, Marvel Monsters, Hellcat, The Goon, Casanova, Batgirl: Year One, both runs of Detective Comics from Greg Rucka, Wonder Woman by Rucka, Checkmate by Rucka, Enemy Ace DC Archives, Green Arrow by Brad Meltzer, Starman Omnibuses, and then various kids comics by category.
* Chris Beckett enjoyed the list but suggested perhaps adding Nexus Archives.
* Don MacPherson wrote in to suggest, Irredeemable, Dr. Strange: The Oath, The Spirit #1-12, The Twelve, Secret SixThor, The Incredible Hercules and Agents of Atlas Vol. 1.
* Philip Rippke sent in a note suggesting the consideration of Fantastic Four #51 to the renumbered #524 (27 issues), Iron Man: The Inevitable, Marvel Boy and Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman: Trinity.
* Matthew Wave suggests The Doom Patrol Archives and The Herbie Archives.
* Kenny Penman wrote in to say we might consider giving the nod to Teen Titans Year One for Karl Kerschl's art the same way we revere runs of comics from previous decades for the art alone.
* Sean T. Collins wrote in to say I should maybe include the Hellboy stuff and books related to it, and says the Banner book is a better common than the same creative team's Cage.
* Jog suggests the "Soldier X version of Cable."
* Cole Moore Odell wrote in suggesting Johnny Ryan's Marvel-related work and Jeff Parker's work generally.
* John Vest recommends Steve Gerber's Countdown To Mystery.
* Marc-Oliver Frisch wrote in to suggest that CR consider Cable #97-107/Soldier X #1-8; The Hood, Blank Panther by Christopher Priest; Truth: Red, White & Black.
* Evan Dorkin likes Jack Staff.
* Steve Stwalley thinks it's not a good superhero list until it has some Flaming Carrot on it.
* Chad Nevett suggests the Casey-Phillips (and briefly, Dillon) run on WildCATS volume two as a supplement to the WildCATS 3.0 listing. He also thinks the last chapter of Casey and Adlard's Codeflesh makes the cut.
* Scott Puckett wants to know, "How is it that no one mentioned The Authority, Atomic Robo (not sure if that really hits the superhero genre), Demo, Global Frequency, Johns' Green Lantern run or Vaughan's Runaways?"
* Neil Kleid wrote in to yell at us: "How could you leave off the amazing Spider-Man: Tangled Web series? The Darwyn Cooke story alone should sell you if not the J Jonah Jameson story or Frog-man issues...!"
* Finally, David Welsh wrote in to suggest that original Agents Of Atlas mini-series and Empowered.
Go, Read: Mark Siegel Interview
It's kind of a "meet Mark Siegel" interview, but a) Mark's nice, and you should want to meet the First Second head honcho, b) the First Second people sent me one of those nice notes along the lines of "I'm sure you're just waiting to post this great link..." and I'm a sucker for that approach even when I wasn't waiting on anything because I missed it all together. Or maybe especially when I miss stuff.
FFF Results Post #190 -- Bargains
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Four Great Comics You've Found for Free or at a Reduced Price And Something Memorable About One Of Those Transactions." This is how they responded.
Tom Spurgeon
1. Binky Brown and the Holy Virgin Mary
2. The Eternals #4
3. X-Men #59
4. The Early Morning Milk-Train
5. My dad's copy of The Early Morning Milk-Train was one of a dozen books that I kept upon his passing, and the only one that I hadn't read before.
1. Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs
2. No. 5 Vol. 1 by Taiyo Matsumoto
3. Strontium Dog Search/Destroy Agency Files 04
4. Let's Declare Ourselves Winners ...And Get The Hell Out by Bill Mauldin
5. I have an exceptional collection of Bill Mauldin Books that mainly came from my local library sale for either two dollars each or as part of their bag sale: fill a paper bag with books for three dollars. Because of this I now also own three copies of his most astounding, and I think, best book, Back Home. I also got his Mud & Guts booklet for the Park Service that way. Support your local library!
1) The Little Monsters -- I don't know where this came from... it must've been in the house since before I was born. It was my first comic book and I read it a million times.
2) TMNT Donatello #1 in a One Issue Micro-series. I got this as a middle-comic in a 3 pack from a drug store called Wackers when i was about 11 years old. I loved the story because it was about an artist who drew monsters that came to life, and then he gets sucked into another dimension. It was around this time that I started telling people I wanted to be a cartoonist when I grew up.
3) Batman Dark Knight Returns #2 -- traded a G. I. Joe figure (one of the Dreadnaughts) to my friend for this comic that I couldn't seem to find at any of the places that carried comics in my town. I first heard about Frank Miller's Batman from an interview I read in one of my Dad's Playboys that I found in his closet.
4) Grit Bath #1 -- found it in a 25¢ longbox at Starbase 21 comic shop in Tulsa, OK. My first alternative/undergground comic. Totally blew my mind. Made me want to make comics.
5) Dan Clowes's 8 Ball collection Orgybound -- My first Clowes book stolen from my friend Josh. His apartment was such a mess, I used to steal stuff from him all the time just to see if he'd notice things missing. Most of it I returned... but I kept the Orgybound.
*****
Justin Colussy-Estes
1. the Dover Barnaby collection
2. Complete New Yorker Cartoons (for $15!)
3. Silver Surfer #3-4 (1rst series)
4. Iron Wok Jan Vols. 1-15
5. I found the Barnaby collection in a discount bin not three or four months ago for just a few bucks & had that sudden joy of discovery that I associate with my early days of discovering comics, an all-too-rare sensation these days what with internets and gorgeous reprints and all.
*****
Paul Sloboda
1. Doctor Strange #73 (Roger Stern, Paul Smith, Terry Austin)
2. Tintin In Tibet (Hergé)
3. Alley Oop, 1947-1948 (V.T. Hamlin)
4. Cerebus #100-108 (Dave Sim & Gerhard)
5. Those nine issues of Cerebus were bought for me by my friend Mike, at the end of the first comic convention I ever attended. This is where I first learned of the end-of-the-con habit of frenzy selling, where vendors might become amateur auctioneers and yell out some deal for sale with a desired price (like, "nine issues of Cerebus for $2!"). Mike was quick on the draw and handed them to me, and it all went downhill from there. ("You can have nine issues of one comic and still not understand what's going on...? That's so cool...!")
(The rest of the items on the list, I just bought today, so... no associations yet.)
1. Creepy #1 - #6 @ $.25 each (mid-1980s convention special)
2. Eerie #2 - #6 @ $.25 each (mid-1980s convention special)
3. Up Front by Bill Mauldin first edition (purchased new by my father, given to me years later)
4. Back Home by Bill Mauldin first edition (purchased new by my father, given to me years later)
5. Not a comic, but I found a book on a shelf in the Burbank Ikea, placed there to prove the shelf in question could actually hold a book. The book was one of my favorite novels, so I took it down, thumbed through it, noted the indicia page, then asked the store manager if I could buy it. He said no, but he would trade it for a book of equal or larger size. So I hopped in my car, drove all the way home to Chatsworth, grabbed a long out of date computer manual, drove back to Burbank (total round trip 40+ miles), and traded it for a first edition of Ross Lockridge Jr.'s Raintree County.
*****
Justin J. Major
1. The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes 1 - Batman (2nd Hand Bookstore)
2. The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes 2 - Wonder Woman (2nd Hand Bookstore)
3. Krazy & Ignatz TPB 1927 (Fantagraphics Store Back Room)
4. Quimby Mouse TPB (Fantagraphics Store Back Room)
5. Promethea, TPB Books 1-4 for $2.00 TOTAL! at a White Elephant resale store. I nearly had to be hospitalized.
*****
Thomas Scioli
1. Classics Illustrated: The Last Days of Pompeii
2. The Dark Knight Returns
3. Maus
4. Alarming Tales #1
5. Among five or six comics that my father-in-law had found from his childhood and offered me was Alarming Tales #1. I'd never heard of it before, but it turned out to be a comics Holy Grail, containing Kirby's early versions of The Evil Factory, Metron and his Moebius Chair, Kamandi, and what looks like Kirby inventing Ditko's Dr. Strange extra-dimensional landscapes in 1959.
I got Avengers 247 for free from a mom and pop store in Rural Maryland because I showed the owners that I had a letter printed in it.
*****
Frank Santoro
1. stack of coverless Ogden Whitney comics
2. Stark Future #1
3. Conan Treasury by BWS
4. Yummy Fur #9 thru #25 for a dime each.
5. Realizing Yummy Fur #19 ("Showing Helder") is possibly my favorite comic of all time. And then selling the stack to Jim Rugg for 20 bux.
1. Air
2. Echo
3. Unwritten
4. Maus
5. My non-comic book reading friend Andy and I were having a discussion about how I had never read Maus. The next time I saw him he produced both volumes, telling me his mom had an extra set around just to give away.
1. Superman Vol. 1 & 2 and Batman Vol. 2 Archives for $30 total and free shipping (usenet sale).
2. Secret Wars 1-12 for $20 when #8 was worth $20 on it's own (LCS).
3. Batman #386 for free (I was a kid, with my mom sharing a cab with some guys, one of them gave it to me after laughing about Black Masks origin).
4. DP7 #30 for free.
5. It was April, 1996 and I was very new to the internet. I made a post of one of the alt.comics newsgroups mentioning how I loved DP7 but couldn't find the later issues. A guy named Robert Jahrling e-mailed me and offered to send me #30 for free, and did. When it arrived I never loved the internet more than on that day.
*****
Peter MacDonald
1. Amazing Spider-Man #129
2. Daredevil #176
3. Tales of Suspense #29
4. Giant-Size Marvel Triple Action #2
5. Bought Amazing Spider-Man #129 for a dime while on vacation in Bangor, Maine with my family when I was 12 or 13 at a store that had a display of old comics that were in like-new newsstand condition... sold it ten or fifteen years later for $100 to help pay rent.
1. Berni Wrightson, Master of the Macabre #2
2. Dark Horse Presents #14
3. Elric #3
4. Dark Horse Presents #56
5. I bought these from a four-for-a-dollar box at a convention. When I got them home and opened them up, I found that they were all autographed by the creators -- including Wrightson, P. Craig Russell, Michael T. Gilbert and John Byrne!
*****
Danny Ceballos
1. Comic Book Confidential promo comic with that amazing Chester Brown cover (free!)
2. All In Color For A Dime paperback (fifty cents at a used book store)
3. Classics Illustrated #11 "Don Quixote" (found in dollar bin)
4. Tantalizing Stories Presents Frank In The River (found in dollar bin)
5. The Comic Book Confidential promo comic is the first comic I ever owned. Back in the late '80s my little brother dragged me into a comic book store for the first time and I only picked this up because it was free and I recognized Lynda Barry's name on the back cover. Talk about jumping down the rabbit hole...
*****
Scott Dunbier
* Nostalgia Press Prince Valiant hardcover
* Nostalgia Press Flash Gordon hardcover
* Origins of Marvel Comics TPB
* Son of Origins TPB
* A copy of Despair, along with several other underground titles, that my friend Lawrence Krauss and I found in a box on the roof of our apartment building when we were both 10 years old.
*****
Philip Rippke
1. Thor #250
2. Savage Sword of Conan #22
3. Fight Man
4. Sleeper #3
5. I grabbed Sleeper #3 from the dollar box just after the end of its first run. It was my first Brubaker/Phillips collaboration. It was far from my last.
1. The Prisoner (1988)
2. The Return of Pogo (1965)
3. The Middleman (2006)
4. The Complete EC Library: Tales from the Crypt (1979)
5. I won the Tales from the Crypt boxed set from Diamond as part of their contest to promote Free Comic Book Day in 2003, in which they also named me "Comics' #1 Fan." As they haven't held the contest again since then, it's presumably a title I still hold.
*****
please note: I'd usually delete the entries that didn't follow format, because when people don't follow format other people tend to complain and not want to follow format themselves and then complain again that someone else was allowed to do something that they're not allowed to do and I develop a headache and dream of not having a web site. so please follow format in the future. thanks.
First Thought Of The Day
I think a good ending to this cycle of Marvel event series would be to find out that the same day that the US government hired Norman Osborn to run its security apparatus it also quietly hired Arcade to do health reform and his rollout of HealthWorld Amusement Parks has completely bankrupted the country.
The top comics-related news stories from November 14 to November 20, 2009:
1. A series of updates on the Mickey Mouse Plot co-conspirators indicates they were much better connected to world terrorism groups than initially believed and had some involvement with 2008's attacks in Mumbais.
Quote Of The Week
"All the folks from Andrews McMeel are from the Midwest, and their natural fear of offending gets them into a lot of trouble." -- Garry Trudeau
*****
today's cover is from one of the great publications of the underground comix era
According to a post at Daily Cartoonist, the Denver Post cartoonist Mike Keefe has received the 2009 Clifford K. & James T. Berryman Award for Editorial Cartoonist. Ann Telnaes of washingtonpost.com and Matt Wuerker of Politico were also cited for their work. A certificate of merit was give to a series by Bill Day on the subject of child abuse.
The Berryman award was endowed in 1989 by Florence Berryman in remembrance of her late father and brother, both esteemed cartoonists. Last year's winner was Nate Beeler. Keefe will receive a crystal trophy and a $2,500 cash prize at the National Press Foundation Awards Dinner in February 2010.
we won't know until the Berryman sites posts a few samples any of the exact cartoons for which Keefe won, but this was from earlier this year
I don't want to get into the habit of running people's sales as news articles. That way lies madness. At the same time, when the sale in question is important to someone in comics' bottom line in a way that doesn't just mean more profits or burning off back stocks, I'm inclined to pay attention. Alvin Buenaventura wrote me earlier this week to say the current sale at Buenaventura Press (20 percent off across the board, I believe) is not only the company's first sale of that type but is there "to encourage direct orders because we're really struggling."
I like their books as a general rule, but here are five projects I'd look into buying at such a sale.
* The Complete Jack Survives, Jerry Moriarty
I thought this was a beautiful, necessary collection.
* Kramers Ergot Vol. 7, Various
Let me put it to you like this: I would have to imagine this goes out of print and then never go back into print, which will make it an elusive want-to-have along the lines of the first RAW books.
* I Want You, Lia Hanawalt
One of four or five buzz books for 2009 and sure to be an anchor of the next round of "Holy crap, look at all the great young female cartoonists!" articles.
* Characters For An Epic Tale, Tom Gauld
I wasn't a huge fan of the latest Tom Gauld book The Gigantic Robot, but I adore his work generally and really like the prints he's done with BP.
* Injury #3, Ted May et al
BP has made an admirable commitment to the comic book format, and this is one of their better offerings in a strong suite of comics.
While I know that the Internet is less of a place where people run and buy things the second they're linked to than it was even five years ago, I hope you'll please keep BP in mind in the weeks ahead. There are a lot of great comics and pieces of cartoon art there. I think combined with SLG's sale, we should all keep in mind that for a lot of comics companies hard times were there long before the wider public economic mini-meltdown and things could remain fragile long for a long time.
If I remember correctly, pocket cartoons are the little cartoons that appear on things like the letters page; it's a term out of favor here for the lack of such cartoons. The Pont award is named for World War II-era Punch cartoonist Graham Laidler, who drew a series called "The British Character."
The awards were started in 1995 as a fund-raising and publicity mechanism for the Cartoon Museum and its primary backer the Cartoon Art Trust, which held an auction in conjunction with this year's dinner. Among the presenters was film director Mike Leigh.
There are a few supplementary "my night at the dinner" and "congratulations to XXXX" posts around the Internet, such as this one for Michael Heath.
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* this article goes into the arrests of alleged Mickey Mouse Plot co-conspirators David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana in terms of worries from western intelligence agencies as to what this implies about Lashkar-e-Taiba.
* links to the Pakistani military and Bollywood are also being explored, one hopes with the proper amount of diligence accorded to each.
* what was David Coleman Headley doing in Mumbai that would make him a participant in the 2008 attacks on the city? Scouting.
* Leigh Walton has a nice link and some brief commentary about the indie bookstores vs. big box chains that has blown up in recent weeks as Wal-mart has rolled out their holiday pricing strategies on several bestsellers.
LOEG Library Debate Goes Public
The case of two library workers who were fired for keeping a copy of League of Extraordinary Gentleman: Black Dossier out of the hands of a nine-year-old patron apparently led if only in a falling backwards way into a public meeting where a number of speakers held forth on the matter. Additionally, a petition was introduced asking to bar the Alan Moore/Kevin O'Neill graphic novel, a Ron White DVD and a movie and book related to writer Chuck Palahniuk. First, I'd like to extend an invitation to Pastor Watts to stop by the CR office any time he'd like to see some real comics pornography. Second, while I definitely believe in as open a borrowing policy as possible, I'm also always happy to see public discourse on matters like this. One of the things that was upsetting about the original case was that someone had taken it on themselves to represent the community in a way that clearly wasn't reflective of the panoply of opinions folks in the community hold.
Evan Dorkin says that SLG is having a 40 percent off sale right now to clear some recession-related hurdles heading into the holiday season. Well, Evan said the first part and suggested the second, actually. Anyway, a lot of people are having sales right now or are about to launch into one. CR will try to have as many of those sales as possible, but SLG's will be done by then and they're a big enough entity in comics I don't mind devoting a bit of space to their efforts of this type. Here's five books off the top of my head I'd recommend you think about adding to your collection.
Picketers At Newsday Over Cartoon
Members of the Long Island Hispanic community picketed the Newsday office in Long Island in Wednesday, upset over the timing and content of a Mallard Fillmore cartoon. Unless I'm missing certain subtleties in cartoonist Bruce Tinley's use of dinosaur metaphors, it looks like the offense came from a cartoon about hate crimes appearing on the anniversary of the stabbing death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero. Tinley's response is unpacked a bit more in the article through the link. The publication released a statement saying they should not have run the cartoon.
* the fact that the Headley and co-conspirator Tahawwur Hussain Rana have been linked to the horrible sequence of events in Mumbai has set people gossiping about possible connections. The article through that same link asserts that officials are looking into Rana's travel business as a way potential terrorists may have entered the US through Canada, which is something that makes total sense even if it's not supported with a citation here.
* this profile of Rana's connections in Ottawa mentions that the bail hearing is now set for December 2.
* not comics: according to a funny post by Warren Ellis, they're trying Global Frequency as a TV show again. I don't know of any other outside pieces of material that get two shots like this; then again, I don't know much about TV. I think that would make a good TV show, and I'm surprised it didn't work the first time around.
* the columnist Steven Grant takes a look at the graphic novel as an evolving form rather than a static one, and makes a historical comparison between other evolving and devolving forms of comics.
* the always-interesting Matthias Wivel provides an update on the Danish Comics Council and all of that group's irons in various fires. It sounds so logical and forthright and smart that you may for a few seconds forget that an equivalent effort in the USA would almost certainly be a deep depression-inducing disaster.
* it's hard not to be happy for any creator that is happy about a book selling out, but how can they have a second cover ready this quickly unless they had a sneaking suspicion this one would sell out? And don't they get the orders before they print?
* finally, the people that make the funny Marvel action figurine videos seem pleased with their efforts on a new Twilight-related episode. So if you were looking for an excuse to go look at those videos, now's the time.
Angouleme Mayor Philippe Lavaud and Franck Bondoux of the FIBD met yesterday to work out the issues by bringing in a number of new government agencies to help defray the costs of the 2010 Angouleme Festival. So all will be fine in the land.
Of course, I also learned this morning that I may have lost my hotel room. It's always something with Angouleme.
* the Vertigo blog Graphic Content has a short preview up of the forthcoming Peter Bagge work Other Lives. Also previewed on a DC blog is the new Moon-Ba piece Daytripper.
* Shueisha is going to hit the US phone market hard with some of its best and most popular manga titles. In a way, these launches and major efforts have become quietly ubiquitous to the points it's difficult to point to any one announcement as a major thing, but I think this is the kind that might count. I've long felt that in general companies should be offering this material in matter-of-fact fashion on every platform that is viable, so it's nice to see people starting to push in that direction.
* not comics: the director Chris Brandt sent out an e-mail indicating that his Independents is now available via Netflix. That might be a perfect way to see the movie, a documentary about creativity in independent comics that I liked for the range of interviews, but which certain friends told me they liked only for the raw interviews rather than what the film does with them.
* the prominent blogger Mike Lynch reminds us that IDW has a big King Aroo book coming out next month. Of all the reprints we've seen recently, this is one of the two or three I feel particularly lucky that we're going to see.
* in case you missed it in today's Random Comics News: the New York Timeshas a profile up of Joe Kubert today, where among other topics he talks about his forthcoming standalone book Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965. More at Robot 6 and The Bleed
* finally, Paul Gravett's recent Euro-Comics 101-type piece done in conjunction with Comica and now stored on his web site threw the spotlight on a dozen English-language translation projects for the UK market in 2010. Aya, Abouet & Oubrérie (Jonathan Cape); Corto Maltese, Hugo Pratt (Dalen Books); King Of Flies, Mezzo & Pirus (Fantagraphics); Lou!, Julien Neel (Highland Books); Nemi, Lise Myhre (Titan); Requiem, Mills & Ledroit (Panini); Sleepyheads, Randall C. (Blank Slate); The Little Prince, Joann Sfar (Walker); The Wrong Place, Brecht Evans (D&Q); Valerian, Christin & Mézières (Cinebook); West Coast Blues, Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics); XIII, Van Hamme & Vance (Cinebook).
* Craig Fischer, associate professor of English at Appalachian State University and comics critic primarly aligned with the Thought Balloons blog
* Francisca Goldsmith, director of branch services at the Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia, and author of The Readers' Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels
* John Hogan, editor of Graphic Novel Reporter
* James Hudnall, comics writer and publisher
* Wayne Winsett, owner of Time Warp Comics and Games (Boulder, Colorado)
The judges' primary task is assembling the nominees list, which is then voted upon by qualifying industry members.
3X Ware, Barry, Groening, Feiffer Panel Starting with this partial transcript by Ed Choy Moorman, moving along to this report by Todd Allen and finally hitting this Lucy Knisley cartoon, one might come away with a much more comprehensive understanding of what was discussed at the Chicago Humanities Festival featuring the staggering line-up of Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, Matt Groening and Jules Feiffer than what anyone was able to give you on their own. thanks, Will Dinski
Not Comics: X-Men As Movie Franchise
I don't comment on films based on comics a whole bunch because a) films aren't comics even if they have comics things in them, b) the comics industry is isolated in a lot of ways even from those films that directly adapt their content, and c) I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to movies. Still, I was struck by this article by the LA Times film and comics/comics and film guy Geoff Boucher because it seems to me less of an article than a thriving word colony of dangling, unsubstantiated argumentation.
I recognize the fact that people are going to actively consider the possibility of more X-Men movies because the three X-Men movies made a basket-load of cash money. That's the way those nice people work. I'm just not sure I buy what seems to Boucher's general assertion: that they'd be better off making more X2s than the so-far successful strategy of solo movies and concept re-launches they're considering now. Part of it is that as is the case with many superhero properties with which I'm familiar, I honestly don't know how rich the soil is for future movies that cling to the original conception of the X-Men comics. I read a staggering number of those comics, and I'm kind of lost as to something I'd enjoy seeing on film.
The thing is, I agree with Boucher there was an under-recognized sizable audience for that material ten years ago based on the number of people that encountered the comic book at some point or watched one of the cartoons. That audience is different now. In fact, I think there are some manga properties that operate just below widespread mainstream recognition in the same way right now that X-Men did back then and that this will serve those manga properties if they ever get around to making live-action movies of those stories. Maybe they should concentrate on making those movies as opposed to more X-Men exactly the way involved X-Men fans think X-Men movies should be made.
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* there are two pretty good articles today: the first is a The Globe and Mail piece about Mickey Mouse Plot co-conspirators David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana that focuses on Rana rather than Headley. That's because Rana splits time between Ottawa and Chicago, and the spur for the article is a discussion between Indian and Canadian official about working against terrorism. I wasn't all the way aware about Rana's own international itinerary, for example.
* speaking of itineraries, this article goes into a bit more detail about individuals targeted for assassination by the pair. I'm not sure how far along they were in making serious plans, but lists are always fun, right?
* the New York Timeshas a profile up of Joe Kubert, where among other topics he talks about his forthcoming standalone book Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965. More on that book can be found at Robot 6 and The Bleed
* not comics: the artist and cartoonist Colleen Doran talks about what late payments cost freelancers. Late payments is also a significant reason why it's sometimes tougher for freelancers to manage money flow as opposed to simply making enough money in a calendar year.
* the writer and reviewer Johanna Draper Carlson is not having any of your double-standards when it comes to file sharing/copying stuff. I think I might actually be willing to different arguments for different media and the industries serving each medium, so don't tell Johanna.
* longtime Marvel editor Tom Brevoort recalls a month ten years ago when his editorial office facilitated a staggering number of comic books.
* Jon Bardyla has the same question I do about the recent wailing over there being no comics for kids. That question: really? It seems to me there's a decent number of comics for kids right now. It's not exactly 1958, but it's not 1998, either. Okay, I just took a second look and I think this retailer gets at the heart of the problem: that there aren't comics exactly like the old comics for kids. Well, there isn't a show like Happy Days on TV right now, either, and yet somehow children survive.
* I totally missed that Lynda Barry provided a pep talk to this year's participants in National Novel Writing Month. (html/pdf)
* there's a great picture of William Steig and a link to some of his work here.
This Isn't A Library: New And Notable Releases To The Comics Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. But were I in a comic book shop tomorrow I would pick them up and stare them up and down with theatrical intensity.
*****
MAY090063 ALIEN LEGION OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 $24.95
Strange to see this stuff collected, but I remember it being solid mainstream comics with a lot of monster and alien drawings as lead characters. The series also also had some ridiculously named badass breakout character whose name I'm going to resist looking up. I'm not sure how comics like this one and Strikeforce Morituri read now, but I'd sort of be interested in finding out.
JUL090643 DRIVEN BY LEMONS HC (MR) $19.95
Young Josh Cotter avoids the sophomore slump by following up his Skyscrapers of the Midwest with a year abroad in non-representational comics land. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm dying to.
AUG090031 CASPER FRIENDLY GHOST 60TH ANNIV HC $9.95
This is two complete older comics starring the character repackaged as a hardcover. I don't know if the comics are any good, but the Casper character sure seems to work on kids in that three- to five-year-old range, especially in that sweet spot when they're still earnestly and innocently engaging a world that's starting to become cynical and mean and not-friendly in a way that surprises and dismays them. Seriously, watch those early cartoons and see just how thoroughly Casper gets crushed in every way it would be meaningful for a little kid to get crushed. I used to think Casper was about the genre-flip, a ghost that's friendly, but it's really about making a horribly sad boy a tiny bit happy for a few more months.
MAY090070 PICTURES THAT TICK TP $19.95
I had to go look, but yeah, this is a re-release of the elusive Dave McKean short-story collection -- I can't remember what the original was, actually -- and a welcome one at that.
AUG090033 TARZAN THE JESSE MARSH YEARS HC VOL 04 $49.95
This is a lovely series, and I hope to collect them all.
SEP090129 BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #37 $2.99
SEP090124 BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM #6 $3.99
SEP090127 BATMAN THE UNSEEN #4 (OF 5) $2.99
I still think the fact that the market can support all of these odd-titled Batman comic books means there's something horribly, fundamentally wrong about the marketplace.
AUG090904 FIR TREE GN $14.99 AUG090905 GIFT OF MAGI GN $14.99
Two-thirds of the It Books Christmas line-up of holiday graphic novels.
SEP090332 INVINCIBLE #68 $2.99
Robert Kirkman's superhero title and early reputation-maker continues to chug along. I'm not sure how long its current storyline is slated to last, but I can't think of any looming business the title has past this current knot of plot points.
AUG091093 OISHINBO VOL 06 JOY OF RICE $12.99
AUG091094 PLUTO URASAWA X TEZUKA GN VOL 06 $12.99
SEP091002 TEZUKAS BLACK JACK TP VOL 08 $16.95
AUG091095 VAGABOND TP VOL 30 (MR) $9.95
This seems to me a fairly respectable bloc of manga volumes, although I'm only reading the second and third listed. I'm happy to see Vertical keep pushing the Black Jack material, although it's never been my favorite Tezuka.
JUL090947 RIP KIRBY HC VOL 01 $49.99
Guaranteed gorgeous. I think maybe this has been delayed a couple of months but you have to think this was going to be welcome whenever it came out.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
Editor Apologizes For Potentially Anti-Semitic Cartoon In UGA's Red And Black
I was a little confused by this apology from Red and Black editor Carolyn Crist over the above Bill Richards cartoon from last Thursday. I could understand how people might complain about potential Anti-Semitism there, for sure, and I think that a polite apology for lack of clarity and a desire to clear the air is almost always welcome in such cases. What confused me is that I didn't know Richards, one of the more talent student cartoonists of the last several years and always in recent awards contention, was still doing stuff for the University of Georgia community newspaper. It doesn't stun me or anything, but I spent an hour worried that this might be an old story that a student newspaper's feed shot out on-line again or something. Anyway, I think the issues are pretty clear there: here's Richards' semi-occasionally updated blog.
Broelman Dominates '09 Stanley Awards It's making a slow wind through the wire services, but last weekend's Stanley Awards for Australian cartooning honored Peter Broelman twice, for Australian cartoonist of the year and editorial/political cartoonist. Broelman is a freelancer based in Adelaide and distributed on-line by Cagle.com.
Other winners were Gary Clark (comic strip), Matt Golding (gag cartoons), Anton Emdin (illustration), David Follet (media graphics), John Spooner (caricature). Norman Hetherington won the Jim Russell Award, which sounds like a lifetime achievement type of deal. An initial Hall of Fame class was also named: Jim Bancks, Stan Cross, Will Dyson, Percy Leason, Norman Lindsay and Pat Oliphant.
OTBP: No Cartoon Left Behind otbp = "off the beaten path," which right now includes just about any effort by an editorial cartoonist not named Oliphant
The Association des Critiques de BD has released its list of 15 albums in contention for its prix de la critique 2010. They'll get this down to five books before naming the prize winner. I would guess they go in stages to bring attention to a lot of books and to the award in a stuffed awards season.
* Alpha... directions, Jens Harder (Actes Sud/L'An 2)
* Blessure d'amour propre, Martin Veyron (Dargaud)
* Le Chant du pluvier, Erwann Surcouf, Joseph Béhé and Amandine Laprun (Delcourt)
* Dieu en personne, Marc-Antoine Mathieu (Delcourt)
* Droit du sol, Charles Masson (Casterman)
* Happy Sex, Zep (Delcourt)
* Il était une fois en France Vol. 3, Sylvain Vallée and Fabien Nury (Glénat)
* Jolies ténèbres, Kerascoët and Fabien Vehlmann (Dupuis)
* Lulu femme nue Vol. 1, Étienne Davodeau (Futuropolis)
* Notre mère la guerre Vol. 1, Maël and Kris (Futuropolis)
* Pachyderme, Frederick Peeters (Gallimard)
* Paracuellos, Carlos Gimenez (AUDIE/Fluide Glacial)
* Les Passagers du vent Vol. 6, François Bourgeon (12bis)
* Rébétiko : la mauvaise herbe, David Prudhomme (Futuropolis)
* Une vie chinoise Vol. 1, Li Kunwu and P. Ôtié (Kana)
A Couple Of On-Line Comics Notes
There were a couple of passing news stories -- barely news stories -- that caught my attention as a tandem. The first was that The Comics Journal put its entire 300th issue on-line in what seemed to be a trumpet call as to its new on-line strategy, but then the issue went back to subscriber-only status via a decision from publisher Gary Groth. Johanna Draper Carlson notes this isn't a nice thing to do to customers and potential customers, and I don't think anyone would disagree. A more interesting question to me is whether or not the issue should have gone on-line in the first place (which I guess means I'm also asking whether it should have been taken off). I think the competing impulses and their supporting arguments are fairly well-known now. I had a pair of prominent comics people tell me flat-out that with the issue on-line they wouldn't have purchased it as planned, and I'm in that camp, too, so I'm sympathetic to Groth's point of view. In addition, as is the case with convention sales, I don't think you should tell people (retai
* the critic and historian Charles Hatfield has penned a somewhat lengthy appreciation of JH Williams III 
* London Free Press 
* 
* Chris Grine 
Trinidad, who also worked as Celso Trinidad, was for a a time an assistant to Francisco V. Coching. It was with Coching he was initially exposed to comics work an where he developed an early style reminiscent of Coching's. According to 
* Black Hole, Charles Burns (Pantheon, 2005)
* 
* Tim Hensley 
* Jeffrey Meyer 
* Williams Burns wrote in to say, "It's not an imperishable classic, but I'd say Incredible Hercules deserves a spot on a list of 83." 
* Kenny Penman wrote in to say we might consider giving the nod to Teen Titans Year One for Karl Kerschl's art the same way we revere runs of comics from previous decades for the art alone.
The imminent ascendance of 
Vertical's commitment to Osamu Tezuka's 
The stabilization of Tokyopop: 2009 was not particularly kind to Tokyopop, what with the loss of many of its licenses to Kodansha, and 2008 didn't invite many scrapbook opportunities either, marked as it was by massive employee layoffs. But it's still here, it's still acquiring new licenses, and it's returned books like Mari Okazaki's exquisite office-lady drama 
CMX's taste in shôjo: DC's manga imprint does a lot of things right, picking interesting titles from a variety of demographic categories. I think they deserve special mention for their choices in the sector of comics created for girls. This has been the case since the imprint's launch, and 2009 has reinforced the impression. One of my particular favorite recent offerings has been Natsune Kawase's two-volume 
The reinforcement of the category of comics for grown-ups: Best-seller lists may be dominated by comics for younger audiences, but it's hard to imagine fans of sophisticated, challenging work feeling particularly deprived at the moment. From Yoshihiro Tatsumi's massive autobiography, 
* Brendan Wright 
* 
* not comics: according to a funny post by Warren Ellis, 
* the retailer and writer Chris Butcher writes about 
Starting with 
* the New York Times 
* I totally missed that Lynda Barry provided a pep talk to this year's participants in National Novel Writing Month. (
It's making 
